A New Life
by xxaemiliusxx
Summary: The only thing more surprising than Turbo's King Candybug regeneration is meeting his past face-to-face when the Turbo Twins suddenly show up in Sugar Rush, racing after hours on the outlying tracks. Desperate to race again himself, Turbo enlists the help of old friends to repair his code and return to his original avatar before the rest of the arcade discovers he's still alive.
1. Prologue

_Author Notes: I came up with this idea when I first sketched a picture of Candybug embracing the twins in my sketchbook. I began to get really intrigued by the idea of them meeting Turbo again, in his Candybug form, and starting over from where they'd left off when he lost his head and game jumped away from them. So, this story is based around some rough sketches I posted on Tumblr a few weeks back. People really seemed to enjoy them, and I'm hoping they'll enjoy the story I fleshed out around them._

* * *

Prologue

He sat listening to the sound of engines. Just how near or far, he couldn't tell. The way the sound echoed and carried throughout the world could be disorienting, but he knew they must be some way off. After all, he was about as far out into the world as one could get before hitting the invisible walls that surrounded the Sugar Rush landscape. He wondered vaguely which track was being raced, and which characters were speeding down the raceways, hearts pounding, skin tingling, ears ringing with the thrill of the race.

He clenched one long, clawed hand until the nails pressed in against the armored skin of his palm, then he extended those claws again and shifted his weight, raising up the grotesque insectile body that he had come to recognize as his own. It was strange, he thought, how he'd adjusted to the body. How it had become more familiar to him than even King Candy's had. His code had been truly rewritten this time, he thought ruefully. No longer was he an outsider wearing a highly convincing mask, now he was truly a part of Sugar Rush, although not by his own volition. As far as he could figure, the cybug's virus had managed to fuse his own identity to King Candy's, using_ itself _as the catalyst. Of course, this was only speculation. And without being able to get a look at the code himself, it was impossible to be sure. But, whatever the reason, everything about his new body seemed entirely natural. King Candy had required effort, but now actions and senses, both human and cybug, both seemed instinct. Everything was as natural as if he had always been that way. Sometimes, though not often, he even forgot that he had ever been any different. And then he stopped and thought and remembered, and the whole thing seemed so grotesque and deeply wrong that it made him sick to his stomach.

Turning away, he skittered along deeper into the cave, to the place where Sugar Rush's artificial sunlight did not reach, then he lay down and folded his long, segmented legs under him. He could still hear the sounds of the racers beyond this little hole in the side of one of the outlying candied mountains. They were driving him mad, those engines. Reminding him of the race he could never run again.

No, he couldn't give up. He couldn't think that way. He _would _race again. He had to. There had to be a way, but he could hardly even fathom where to begin. He wished he had died in that beacon. He had expected to.

No, no, he couldn't afford to think like that. He grimaced as the faint static of a glitch flickered through him. He couldn't leave Sugar Rush now, he knew that much. In the past it had always been a choice, somewhat. Leaving Sugar Rush would have been a great risk, so it was rarely an option, but he could have left if he had to. Now though, with his code made thoroughly ragged by the cybug and its fusion of the two unlike characters, he was nearly as much the glitch Vanellope had been. Which was ironic, considering the amount of effort he took to give her that glitch. The same damage had occurred to him without any effort from anyone. It had been a fluke. He should have figured coding himself into a game would come back to bite him in the long run. But then he was never much for thinking ahead. He huffed out a sigh as he rested his chin on his crossed arms, frowning.

He didn't know how. He didn't even know if it was possible, really. But the only chance he had was to get back to that code vault, to see what had become of his code, and see what could be done about it. And he had to do it before anyone else realized it was still there.


	2. Chapter One - Reunion

_Author Notes: I still have no idea what the upload schedule for this will look like, but I can promise it won't be daily! I'm only uploading this now because the prologue received such a warm reception and I felt a bit bad that I got people all excited and then the twins weren't even in the first bit. Also, this first chapter was already finished, so, here you go—have some twins._

_Turbo surprised me as being significantly more difficult to write than I imagined. In the film, we never really get any indication of his personality; we've just got King Candy, and it's hard to say how much of Turbo is KC and visa-versa. So, taking into account a lot of the fandom's interpretations of him, and considering the very weird circumstances I've placed him in, I tried my best to develop something that seemed feasible. He's pretty off his game in this first chapter, anyway, so it's not too unusual for him to be acting strangely. Hope he doesn't seem too off character to readers. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

Chapter One - Reunion

Turbo licked absently as his fangs, listening to the sound of the engines dying down one by one as they were overcome by cheers at the final race of the day. The arcade was closing, finally, and with any luck those rotten racers would call it a day and get off of the track so that he could leave his hiding spot long enough to explore the landscape a little. As familiar as he was with the tracks in Sugar Rush, his panic at having regenerated, vulnerable and exposed, had robbed him of the sense to pay much attention to where he was headed when he fled for shelter. Judging by the view from the cave, he had some idea of which corner of the world he was in, but details were still hard to judge. There was a gumdrop forest just downhill from the cave, and beyond that some chocolate hills. But he wanted to figure out where_ exactly_ he was and take stock of how long he was likely to be able to hide here before someone found him.

The cheerful cries of the candy citizens quieted down and the last of the engines silenced. So after waiting a short while to listen if they began again, he slowly crept out of the cave and, taking a brief look around, skittered down over the hill at the cave's mouth, toward the gumdrop forest in front of him.

He was pleased with now nimble the cybug body was, in spite of its weight and size. He was able to move surprisingly quickly (and quietly), so crossing the open was easy, and once he was immersed in the gumdrop trees, he felt quite a bit less exposed and able to relax. There were a number of gumdrop forests in Sugar Rush, so its presence alone wasn't much help in pinpointing his location. He needed to find a track, a bit of road he could remember and identify. There was a track nearby, he knew, because he had heard the racers come quite close earlier in the day. Perhaps just on the other side of these trees.

He realized, with frustration, that he was quite anxious, creeping through that unfamiliar landscape. With a slight flexing of the muscles in his back, his wings flickered to life and folded low, ready, in case he needed to flee.

_Flee?_ He nearly scoffed, grimacing with disgust at his own fear. But he had to admit, he was terrified. And he wasn't entirely sure why. What would they do if they caught him? They couldn't kill him; he'd regenerate again. They couldn't delete his code. He'd had more than enough trouble trying to do that to that awful Vanellope and it had never worked. And as long as he was glitching, there was no way for them to remove him from the game and deal with him outside it. Still, the prospect of being caught and caged was humiliating and distressing, and he had no mind to wind up in the fungeon, regardless of what might happen to him otherwise.

He emerged from the forest at the edge of a strip of track that wound along the chocolate hills and vanished behind a particularly large fudge peak. Scanning the strip with his eyes, he tried to imagine being back in his kart, racing over this scene with the other racers bearing down behind him. Chocolate Twist. A beginner's track. He was quite a ways from the palace then. It was going to be hard to get back there, particularly without being seen. Not the mention, he had to consider getting past all the citizens and the guards once he reached it. Getting to the code fault was not going to be an easy task. In fact, it may not even be remotely possible. He grimaced.

Then Turbo lifted his head suddenly. Engines were humming, and quite close. How hadn't he heard them earlier? He quickly ducked down, lowering his body into a crouch and shuffling back to get amidst the trees again. _Damn_, he thought, knowing it was too late to flee through the open now, _they're on this track._

Two karts, from the sound of it. Likely two of the kids with a score to settle, a 'tie' to break. He crouched down as much as he could, and watched with apprehension as the sounds grew louder. Just his luck, he thought bitterly, pressing his chin to the ground and watching from between the trees.

He felt his breath catch in his throat. Two karts came into sight, shameful messy looking things, zipping around the corner of one of the hills and looping around the curves. They were Sugar Rush karts, made of cake and frosting, and any number of assorted candies and sprinkles, but the drivers...those drivers...Two grey-faced young men with blue helmets and jumpsuits, grinning for the thrill of the race as they knocked into one another before flying around the next curve. Without realizing what he was doing, Turbo found he had lifted his long neck to watch them with wide, disbelieving eyes as the blue helmets disappeared from sight around the fudge peak.

"The twins," he murmured breathlessly.

He could hear the engines still as they looped around the rest of the course, out of sight, but certainly not out of mind. It was impossible, he thought absently, they couldn't be here. _Why would they be here?_ But those faces were unmistakable, yellow-eyed and -toothed just like himself-his former self. His face flickered over to Turbo briefly as he considered it, then flickered back to King Candy with a faint crackle of red static.

He crouched down low again as they came zipping around the curves for a second lap. It was them, there was no doubt in his mind. After all these years, they were still alive, and still racing—_and in Sugar Rush_! He had to be going mad. He lifted his head again as they drove out of sight. If they were having a real race, it'd be three laps, meaning he had one last chance to see them, or contact them, or-

What was he thinking? He shook his head briefly to clear the thought. He couldn't, he couldn't risk it. What would they want with him anyway? After everything he'd done to them.

He found he had unconsciously plucked a gumdrop from one of the trees and was clutching it in one clawed hand. Alright, so he had betrayed them, but it _had_ been an accident, in some ways. At least, his intent had never been to get their game unplugged, so was it really so bad? His thoughts were racing. It was impossible, he realized suddenly, for him to get across all that landscape and into the palace. It was impossible, alone. He needed help, whether he wanted it or not. And surely no one in Sugar Rush was going to help him.

The sound of engines was growing louder again. He hunkered down one last time, watching and waiting anxiously as the sound grew nearer and nearer. He clutched the gumdrop tightly in his claws, tearing slightly into the flesh of the candy before he realized his error and loosed his grip. He lifted his head, peering anxiously at the track. They were about to come around the corner. He would have only a small window of time to make the throw, and he wasn't certain what his prowess was with his current instincts, but it could be his only chance.

The two appeared suddenly, their tires skidding, engines roaring. They were grinning, both of them, racing their hearts out like the old days, except now they didn't have Turbo to contend with. He felt a brief flicker of irresolution, but before it could take root, he flung his arm forward, throwing the gumdrop out onto the track. The twin in front was too busy looking back at his brother to notice it as it hit the road just in front of his kart. His tire made impact and there was a screech as the kart veered off course. He grabbed at the wheel and tried to regain control, the the kart had already careened into the side of the track with a crash. The other twin immediately hit the breaks, skidding to a stop just past him. He jumped out of the kart calling his brother's name (Ned! And Ted, yes, Turbo hadn't heard those names in years.) as he ran to meet him.

Turbo watched, crouched low, with his heart thudding in his insectile chest. Ted leaned back in his seat, turning to his brother with a ragged smile as he came to meet him. They took a moment to take stock of one another, then began to look around for the source of the crash. Snatching another gumdrop from the ground, Turbo hurled it at the two racers before he ducked back into hiding, crouching now completely hidden behind the trees.

He heard one of the two (he couldn't be certain which—Ted?) give a light cry as the gumdrop hit him.

"What was that?!"

"Another gumdrop..."

"Is somebody throwing stuff at us?"

Turbo heard them walking nearer. He shifted to and fro on his pointed feet, keeping his body low to the ground, his wings still alive but pinned low against his body. This, he realized, was even more frightening than crossing the open. He suddenly forgot everything he wanted to do and say when he saw them. He felt like running again, fleeing from them. But he swallowed and hissed softly from between his fangs and waited.

"I don't see anyone," one of them muttered.

"Are there animals in this game? That gumdrop didn't just fly out there on its own, did it?"

"Well some of the candy is sentient, right?"

The other twin laughed awkwardly and stepped just into Turbo's field of vision. Turbo's eyes went wide. His heart pounded. He felt his body trembling. In spite of all his fears and anxieties, he suddenly hoisted himself up into sight to face the two of them. Both of the racers jumped, their eyes wide as they staggered back from him.

"H-holy..."

"What are...?"

Turbo felt the glitch flicker through him and for a moment his true face came through the disguise, then he flickered back to King Candy again.

"Turbo," they both murmured breathlessly.

Turbo raised his claws, his hands trembling. He felt terribly afraid, which was something Turbo never felt, at least not in this way. What was he so afraid of? That they would hurt him, try to capture him? Hate him? He was trying to form words, trying to think of something to say to put them at ease and assure them he didn't mean them harm...

Suddenly Ned let out a held breath and turned, scrambling away. Ted was about to turn in suit when Turbo found himself launching forward, his movements occurring on instinct. He pounced on Ned, tackling him to the ground and pinning him down with his feet. Immediately the racer began yelling in a panic, prompting Turbo to thrust a clawed hand down against his mouth. No sooner had he done this that Ted began yelling from behind him. The racer had snapped a branch off one of the gumdrop trees and abundantly began striking at Turbo's side with it. His balance upset, Turbo staggered a little before repositioning himself and swatting at Ted with his curled tail. As the racer was knocked to the ground, Turbo kicked out a hind leg and pinned him down as well, though he could do nothing to cover Ted's mouth.

"Let him up, you freak!" Ted shouted, scrambling about on the ground until his jumpsuit tore away where Turbo had pinned him and he rolled aside.

Turbo watched him with his neck craned, trying not to panic as his plans went to hell around him. "I'm not going to hurt him!" he hissed, still trying to keep his voice low in spite of Ted's yelling.

Ted scrambled to his feet and grabbed at the gumdrop tree stick, holding it ready to strike at the insect again, but Turbo's voice had given him pause and he didn't move to swing it. The hands that held the stick trembled a little and after a moment, he lowered it slightly. His eyes shifted from the unfamiliar creature before him to his brother, still pinned between two of the bug's feet with a clawed hand pressed over his mouth. "L-let him up," Ted stammered.

Turbo breathed in and out shakily, staring at Ted, then he turned round swiftly to look down at Ned. "Don't yell," he said, removing his hand from the racer's mouth. Ned drew a sharp breath as his mouth was freed, but he stayed perfectly still until the bug had stepped deftly away from him, giving him space to rise and rush to his brother's side. The two stared at Turbo, again locked eye-to-eye with the strange creature before them. Turbo faced them both and lowered himself down to a crouch, his neck winding low and watching them with mildly timid eyes.

After a long uncomfortable silence, Ned spoke quietly, "Is that really you? Turbo?"

Turbo hissed quietly between his teeth and nodded.

"And you're not just some...weird bug with Turbo's voice?" Ted asked uncertainly.

"It's _me," _Turbo hissed, the glitch flickering through again just enough to expose Turbo's face before it faded.

There was another silence while the twins continued to try and make sense of what they had encountered. "We thought you were dead," Ted said.

"Twice over," Ned added.

Turbo watched them closely. He was relaxing slightly, as no one seemed to have responded to all the noise the two had made. Now that he really looked at them, he realized how long it had been since he had seen them. It seemed like an entire lifetime ago, and he supposed it was. Turbo seemed to have died when King Candy took his place. These two...he had tried his best not to think about them, or the selfish actions that had left them homeless and helpless somewhere far back in his past.

"What happened to you?" Ned murmured.

Turbo perked and looked up from his thoughts. He blinked at the two of them, surprised they hadn't heard the whole story. "The cybugs..."

Ned had taken a step nearer, with his brother close behind. The two of them approached him like curious children. In fact, they seemed like children to him now, now that his size had changed so much. All those years they'd towered over him and now he felt like a giant himself. He perked as Ned reached out and touched his arm. It was strange, how disconnected this body seemed sometimes. He couldn't feel the hand that touched him, though he saw it clearly upon him. While he was busy thinking this thought, he failed to notice Ted reaching up to him also. He looked down at the two of them uncertainly, feeling awkward and embarrassed and out of sorts.

"We thought you were dead," Ted said again, and his voice broke a little with surfacing tears. Turbo craned his neck, bringing his head to the racers' level. There was a strange emotion in him, one he felt he had little to no experience with. He wasn't sure what to even call it. It had a warmth to it, and a strange sort of internal comfort. Ted smiled faintly, though there were tears in his eyes. He reached up to the unfamiliar face before him, and Turbo felt the racer's hands now as they touched him on the skin of his face. Ted laughed a little, a broken laugh that filled his eyes with tears, so he closed them as he drew his own face against Turbo's. "All these years, we thought you were dead!"

Turbo felt the warmth of the blush in his face. Ned let out a half-cry of a laugh as well, and abruptly wrapped his arms around both Turbo and his brother. Though Turbo couldn't feel his touch on the armor of his body, he sensed Ned's presence and there was a strange feeling of familiarity about having the both of them there. Hesitantly, he wrapped his long, armored arms around the twins, touching them gently, using what little tactile sensation he had left in his claws to feel the two of them and pull them in close.

In the back of his mind, a dark cloud of regret, one he had hidden and locked away for years, was surfacing. But for the moment, it was hidden by the warm sensation of comfort, and of safety, that he couldn't recall ever feeling before. He held the twins against him and realized, with great surprise, that he could think of nothing except how strange and exceedingly happy he felt to have them there.


	3. Chapter Two - Help

_Author Notes: I've tried establishing Turbo and the twins' history as quickly as possible so I can focus on the present instead of the past. I hope it doesn't feel too rushed. Also, I'm sorry if Ted and Ned's names are confusing. I've tried to characterize them pretty uniquely so they'll be easier to tell apart. As the story goes on, Ted will continue to establish himself as the talker of the two. Ned's rather quieter and gentler than his brother. Anyway, here we go! Happy New Year!_

* * *

Chapter Two - Help

The reunion was short-lived. Anxious not to draw attention to himself or to the corner of the game where he was hiding, Turbo urged the twins to return to the Sugar Rush racers as quickly as possible, and, of course, to keep his existence a secret. But the last thing he needed was someone coming out to this track in search of the missing twins and find him lurking about. The twins, however, didn't seem to be leaving.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Turbo muttered, slinking around in between the trees, his body weaving between them with ease. The comfort he had felt at their reunion had subsided quickly, giving way to much more typical emotions for him: anxiety and frustration and varying degrees of targetless anger. He seemed unable to keep still, his claws constantly flexing and clicking against one another even when his body stopped moving. Poking his head out of the forest, he kept an anxious eye out as far as he could see in the direction of the palace.

Ted and Ned were loitering about the forest, watching him with deep curiosity. They were reluctant to go so soon after finding their old friend. They had plenty of questions to ask, but Turbo had been brushing them all aside, still working on filtering the overload of emotions and questions in his own head. He glanced at them from the corner of his eye. They were leaning on the gumdrop trees, staring at him quietly. The strangely calm way they seemed to be acting toward him had him feeling even more anxious and embarrassed at the way he couldn't seem to settle down himself.

"President Vanellope invited us to visit here," Ted said.

Turbo scoffed quietly, turning his long neck to glance back at them. "President?"

Ted nodded as Ned spoke up, "She said she might even be able to find a place for us in this game. Like, to stay." He smiled. "We could race again."

Turbo blinked, lowering his body a bit and turning to face them more readily. His claws were still clicking. "You're going to join this game?"

"We might," Ted admitted, shrugging casually, though the invitation was far from casual—it was an enormous deal, and they all knew it. He had tilted his chin to examine the tear Turbo had made in the shoulder of his jumpsuit. "It'd be a lot better than bumming around in Game Central Station every day. Ever since your name's come up again, it's been hard for us to do much travel between games. People keep saying it's only a matter of time before we 'go turbo' ourselves."

"Been a long time since anyone said that about us," Ned mused.

Turbo frowned faintly as he thought this over, then he glanced back toward the track again. "You should go. But come back tomorrow, figure out some excuse to be out here longer, so no one will come looking."

The two glanced at one another, then stepped forward from the trees and approached him again, both of them still seeming hesitant to go. "You'll be safe out here?" Ned asked.

"So long as you don't mention my name to anyone, yes." Turbo hunkered down as they approached. "I'm hiding out in a cave on the other side of the forest, so come there after hours tomorrow. We can...we can talk more then."

Ned nodded, blinking up at him, then suddenly he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Turbo's neck. Turbo tugged back a little this time, still a bit uncertain about this display of affection that was quite foreign to him these days. Ned released him with a smile. "It's good to see you, Turbo."

"Even if you always were a little jerk," Ted added, smirking.

"Not so little now," Turbo muttered, sneering.

Ned stepped back to join his brother, grinning. "We'll be back tomorrow."

Turbo nodded as they gave a somewhat awkward wave and headed for the track to climb back into their karts. Turbo watched them from the shade of the gumdrops, his head poking out from between the trees. "By the way," he called after them, unable to hold back any longer, "your driving is even worse than I remember!"

Ted jumped into his kart with a laugh, while Ned climbed carefully into the other that had smashed into the wall. "By the way," Ted called back at him, "your lisp is even worse than I remember!"

Turbo's head poked up from behind the trees, his face deep red and his eyes wide. Ted stuck his tongue out with a grin before he revved the engine and took off down the track. Ned turned back and waved at Turbo before he followed his brother in suit, laughing.

* * *

Turbo waited a while before returning to his cave, feeling a mix of emotions he wasn't sure what to make of. On the one hand, he was thrilled to have his old friends back, on the other hand, he felt a deep burn of guilt to already be tying them up in a scheme to acquire something for himself. His selfishness had already cost them their game, their home-perhaps it would be better if he forgot the whole thing. After all, they _had_ been happy to see him, and they might be making a home for themselves here in Sugar Rush.

He settled himself down in the cave, curling himself up as best he could and laying his head down on the ground. No, he thought reluctantly, he couldn't live like this. There had to be some way to return to some semblance of a normal life. There had to be a way to race again. That was the most important thing...He was already envious of them, of their ability to tear down that track like the good old days. The thought of never being able to do that again was a mighty fear. And hiding, not only not being the center of attention, but not having any attention at all, that was a formidable frustration as well.

He'd hardly had a lisp at all in the old days, he thought ruefully. Damn that Ted...

So he waited with anxious anticipation for the next day to pass. He listened to the engines at the Royal Raceway rev in the morning, heard the sound of the random roster race, and then listened for the next hours as the racers tore down the tracks, occasionally coming quite near on Chocolate Twist just on the other side of the gumdrop forest. He wondered where the twins were now, if they were in Sugar Rush, awaiting their chance to visit him, or if they were somewhere else entirely, someplace in Game Central Station, carrying the weighty stigma of being characters without a game. _And_ being characters from his game. Which he supposed was doubly bad. It made a bit of sense, he thought, for others to assume that they too would follow his footsteps and game jump themselves into disaster as well. It wasn't fair though. No one knew the twins like he did; they'd never even think of doing such a thing.

Eventually the sound of the engines died away and the cheering grew quiet and Turbo know that the day had ended. He crept to the edge of the cave, watching hopefully and listening for the sound of new engines close by. Finally he heard them, the same sound as the day before, from the two shoddy-looking karts the twins had been driving. The glitch must have made those cars for them, he thought; they were even worse than her own.

For one brief moment, a feeling of dread washed through him. A flicker of doubt sparked in the back of his mind, a suspicious little inkling that made him think, for just a moment, should I have trusted them? Then, as suddenly as it had come upon him, dread gave way to excitement, and he hunkered down low and watched the gumdrop forest with anticipation.

The karts made a full lap before they came back around to the forest and he heard them slow and stop. He could hear the twins' voices, laughing and talking with one another as they got out of their karts and began to head for him. He wriggled his body slightly, shifting from foot-to-foot with anticipation. The twins emerged from the trees, looking around a little uncertainly before they spied the cave and began up the hill toward it. Once he was certain they were alone, Turbo straightened up and stretched his neck out to greet them. Ned waved to him and Ted smiled widely, then they quickened their steps to hurry up to the cave, where Turbo backed up to allow them space to enter.

"Nice cave," Ned said as he stepped inside, glancing around. "What's it made out of?"

"Fudge, I think," Turbo said, sitting back on his hind legs and watching the two of them as they glanced around before turning back toward him.

There was a moment of silence as they stared at one another, their reunion strange and still a bit awkward. Turbo wanted to ask them straightaway what they thought of him, to get that out of the way. For reasons he wasn't quite sure of, he found himself quite concerned about what they thought of them. He needed to know why they had reacted to him so kindly, calmly-when he deserved quite another reaction altogether. He had to know if they hated him (they weren't showing it) or feared him (they weren't showing that either), or what exactly they thought about what he'd-

"The racers told us a bit more about King Candy," Ted said.

Turbo stared at him, his thoughts interrupted. "Oh?"

The twins glanced at one another quite seriously, then Ned quaked with a soft snicker, and suddenly both of them burst out into outrageous laughter. Turbo blinked at them, feeling the unfamiliar warm flush in his cheeks again. The glitch flickered over to his real face momentarily then back to King Candy. "What?!" he snapped.

"I'm sorry!" Ted managed between laughs, "I just can't imagine you acting like that buffoon!"

Turbo straightened up more, breathing in deeply and holding the breath. The two of them continued laughing, doubled over and holding their stomachs until they managed to calm the laughter enough to look at him. They were just rubbing the tears from their eyes, holding in the last of their snickers when Ned blurted out, "Have thome candy!" and the two of them burst into laughter again.

"Shut up!" Turbo yelped, jumping up and advancing on them. The twins took hold of one another as they staggered back from him against the wall, but they were still stifling laughs even as he hovered over him, claws at the ready, craning his neck down to their level and baring his fangs. "I had to put on a good act!"

"Yes, yes, of course," Ted muttered quickly, stifling a chuckle. He smiled at the unfamiliar face that he was training to recognize as Turbo and reached forward to touch the bug's nose with his forefinger. "A _very_ silly act."

"Thilly," Ned corrected with a snicker.

Turbo growled under his breath at the two of them, but they only smiled back at him with the same feigning-innocent smiles they had always had. Frustrated, he kicked out a front leg and knocked them both in the stomach before he swiftly turned away, shuffling across the cave. The twins yelped, but still felt the laugh was worth it, each rubbing their ribs gingerly.

Turbo threw himself down near the opening of the cave, drawing his legs up under him with a slight scuffle and turning his face away. "Shouldn't have bothered trying to get your attention in the first place," he muttered bitterly.

The two still smiled at him gently as they stepped over, wincing a little at their pains, and took a seat on either side of him. He ignored them both, laying his chin down on the ground and looking out over the landscape.

"You can't blame us," Ted said, "we missed teasing you."

Turbo was silent for a moment, then he muttered, "I missed beating you."

"Well I can't say we missed getting beaten."

"We did miss racing though," Ned said. "Racing with you."

Ted glanced over Turbo's back at his brother with a nod and Turbo frowned quietly to himself. Why miss him? What was to miss? He sighed reluctantly. They were being too kind, and too genuine. He couldn't wrap them up in this plan through some underhanded means. He'd already pulled enough strings behind their backs, he didn't want to be doing it again. He had to be straightforward with them, tell them exactly what he was planning and how they could help, if they wanted. He had to give them a_ choice_.

"Speaking of racing," he said quietly. "I could use your...help."

Both twins looked at him expectantly.

He grimaced a little and shifted the little forelegs at his chest, hoisting himself up and lifting his head. "I need to find out if there's any possible way to get my old form back. Turbo, I mean. King Candy's not much use to me anymore. Although I suppose I could settle for him if I had to. Anything's better than this."

"You think you can do that?" Ted asked.

"I don't know," Turbo admitted. "And I can't know for sure until I get a look at my code."

The two glanced over the cybyg's back at one another, then returned their gaze to Turbo.

"The game has recognized me as a part of Sugar Rush, otherwise I wouldn't have regenerated." He stared over the landscape, recalling the time when he had considered Sugar Rush to be his game, his realm. It was no Turbo Time, but it had been his nonetheless. Now it seemed nothing but a prison. "But I'm not sure what that makes me, particularly since the cybug has taken its obvious hold. As far as I can figure, my original code has merged with King Candy's, and the bug's. It's likely that the three are indistinguishable now, but..." He perked, glancing at Ted, who had a hand at his mouth, seeming to be stifling a snicker.

He smiled anxiously at Turbo. "Sorry, it's just...'indithtinguithable'. It's cute."

Turbo growled low and Ted smiled with a raise of both hands in surrender. The cybug grumbled a few curses under his breath and continued, "_In any case_...it might be possible to separate them again. Or at least to remove the cybug virus from the the two characters. I'm not sure where that would leave me, but at least I might be able to race again. If I don't end up locked up forever." He sighed. "Who the hell knows. I can't even believe I'm still alive."

The twins were silent for a moment, then Ned spoke up, "Aren't you glitching?"

"I might be able to fix that too," Turbo murmured thoughtfully. "If not, then I suppose there's not much else I can do."

"They're going to discover you're still around eventually," Ted said.

"Then what will happen?" Turbo mused. "I wonder. In any case," he turned his head and glanced from one twin to the other, "I'd just as soon get to my code before they do. And I could use your help getting back to that code vault."

Ted hummed softly, drawing his knees up to his chest and hugging them. "Where is it?"

"The palace," Turbo said. "The best time to get in there is while the arcade is open and the racers are out at the track. It's just a matter of getting past the guards then. And of course, crossing the rest of Sugar Rush to get there without being spotted." Turbo glanced at them again and he grimaced faintly. "It's, er...it's up to you two, if you want to help me or not. I realize, if they find out you're helping me, it'll, at the very least, cost you the invitation to join Sugar Rush...Quite possibly more than that also."

Ned and Ted exchanged another serious glance before they looked back at Turbo. "No, we want to help you," Ned said. "We know what it is to need to race and not be able to get on the track."

"Besides," Ted added, "we want to race against you again."

Turbo felt the warmth in his face once more and he turned away quickly, lowering his head a little, his neck shifting like a snake. "Alright then," he muttered dismissively, "I'll start making plans."

The twins fell silent and Turbo lowered his eyes as he thought all of this over. It was strange to have people to talk to who understood him, who knew who he was. People who were willing and able to tease and laugh at him. It was strange to think that he actually missed someone teasing him. But he thought, briefly, that it was better to be teased for what he was than respected for what he was not. The racers may have thought that King Candy was silly, but they never teased him in fun; they never had that relationship with him. He was just a ruler, albeit a good one-so they thought-but he was never someone people joked with, or played with, or really...cared about.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Ted, Ned." He turned his head to glance back at them and blinked in surprise.

Though he could not feel them against him, both of the two had slumped against him, Ted with his back against Turbo's left side and Ned with his arms loosely looped over his back. He blinked at the two of them, uncertain how to react to them, what to do with them. Then he sighed faintly, and a little shakily, and he crossed his arms on the ground in front of him and slowly lowered his chin onto them, gazing out over the Sugar Rush landscape.

He remembered, somewhere far back in his memories, a night when the three of them had fallen asleep on the grass together after a night of near-constant racing. It had started when he and Ted tied in an after hours race. In an attempt to break the tie, they raced again, all three-Ted won. But Turbo wouldn't stand for that, so they raced again. He would win; they would race again and one of them would win; again, and he would; again, and they would. Unable to break their ties, they raced all night until finally he had won two races in a row.

They staggered from their karts, the twins too tired to care they'd even lost, while he raved, drunk with exhaustion, about his triumph. They'd barely gotten off the track before the three of them collapsed, laughing, in the grass. When he woke up, they were still there beside him, on either side of him, fast asleep as the quarter alert started flashing in the ever-blue sky.

He lay there now, staring over Sugar Rush's sparkling, pink scenery and thought of Turbo Time, of the simple tracks and the green barren landscapes. As plain as it all was, he missed it terribly. Missed Turbo Time. Missed racing. Missed that night. He sighed faintly and closed his eyes.

Why were they so happy to see him anyway? It was he who took all of that away from them.


	4. Chapter Three - Perspective

_Author Notes: The interaction between the boys was fun to write in this one. I have this thing about really angry characters who are constantly left to the devices of others whose greatest pleasure is simply to push their buttons. Sorry, Turbo._

_Also, I decided this story is going to have a sequel! I figured out a much better place I'd like to end my tale, but it involves a whole second arc, so consider "A New Life" (which right now is in the area of 16-17 chapters) part one...And I swear this all has a plot, it's just taking its sweet time getting moving._

* * *

Chapter Three - Perspective

Turbo awoke to the sound of engines. He had overslept. It was unlike him. He lifted his head quickly, disoriented by the absence of any way of knowing the time without being a part of the Sugar Rush community, where the arcade's hours demanded his constant attention. The races were on, that was for certain, though for how long he couldn't tell. Was it just the random roster race or was the arcade already open? He never slept in like this.

Feeling anxious, he began to get to his feet when a sound from within the cave startled him. He turned quickly and was surprised to see Ned, curled up on the floor beside him, his back resting up against Turbo's folded insectile legs. Turbo blinked at him. After a moment, the memory of the night before returned, foggy at first, but clearing up slowing. He turned quickly to look for Ted, but found his other side empty. A quick glance around the cave assured him that the other twin was missing.

Dammit! They stayed here all night! He turned back toward the landscape quickly, toward the gumdrop forest that obscured Chocolate Twist and the twins' abandoned karts from view. Someone must have noticed they didn't return. So why didn't anyone come looking for them? If they hadn't come by now, surely they would soon. He began to move to get up again when Ned made another murmur of sleep. Turbo grimaced and froze once more, reluctant to wake the sleeping racer but growing increasingly anxious as the seconds ticked by with the constant threat of being found rising up in his mind.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered, cursing himself for letting Ned's sleep come before his own safety. With a flurry of insectile limbs, he scrambled up and out of the cave, ignoring the sound of surprise from Ned as he dropped to the ground behind him. Turbo whirled his neck about, casting his gaze over the landscape outside the cave. Ted was no where to be seen. About to panic for fear he'd been betrayed, he spun to look back at the cave and found himself staring at two twins, one of them sitting up on the floor of the cave, looking terribly confused, and the other just coming around the side of the mountain, a candy-coated hand stuffed into his mouth. Turbo blinked at them both, then he suddenly came skittering back to the cave, snatching Ted by the collar and tugging him along beside him. "What the hell are you doing?!" he hissed.

Stumbling along with a mouthful of candy, Ted answered, "Eating?"

"The arcade is open!" Turbo spun to face them, his entire body rigid with anxiety. "You two weren't supposed to stay here all night, someone will come looking!"

Ted waved a hand of sticky, candy-coated fingers at him. "Relax, relax. We told Vanellope we were going to explore the landscape and spend the night out here."

Turbo breathed out heavily, staring at Ted with wide angry eyes that kept flickering yellow as the glitch coursed through him.

"We told her we wanted to be left alone," Ned murmured, getting up from the floor unsteadily, "to do twin stuff."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!" Turbo yelled, his grey-skinned face flickering in and out. His body was littered with red sparks. "You had me scared out of my wits! I thought they were going to...! To find...!" Unable to collect his thoughts with the glitch raging through him, he uttered a loud growl from between his fangs, and abruptly dropped to the floor of the cave, knocking his forehead down against the floor and tucking his legs in beside him with a scuffle. Hissing softly, he waited for the glitching and the anger to fade.

The twins stared at him, then muttered two quiet apologies in unison.

Pressing his forehead to the floor, Turbo grumbled, "Are your karts hidden?"

"In the gumdrop trees," Ted answered gingerly.

Turbo muttered something the twins couldn't quite make out. They didn't ask for clarification. He remained that way a little while, his body crouched low, his head against the floor, then he slowly lifted his neck and looked at the two of them, the glitching finished and King Candy's face secured. "You can't stay here."

"Neither can you," Ned said, getting to his feet. He joined his brother's side, who was licking the last of the candy from his fingers.

Turbo growled softly, his anger still flowing just under the surface. "What the hell do you care about me anyway?!" he shouted. "I don't get it, why are you treating me like this?! I ruined your lives, why are you so damn concerned about me?!"

The twins blinked at him, taken aback by the sudden outburst. They each swallowed, then spoke in quiet unison, "You're Turbo."

"You were part of our game," Ted said softly.

"That makes us family," Ned finished.

Turbo blinked at the two of them rapidly, then turned away, his claws groping vaguely at the floor in front of him. What?! The very thought was absurd! All these years, they had been homeless and stigmatized because of _him _and they still called him family!

"Turbo," Ted said gently. The cybug froze, listening, though he daren't look back at them again. "Don't get us wrong, alright? We spent a long time being, well, furious at what you did. But...we've spent a longer time wondering about what happened to you and wishing you were still around. You seem to be forgetting, Turbo Time got unplugged a _long_ time ago." Turbo glanced over at him slowly and for the first time the weight of those years seemed really quite tangible. Since the twins' appearance, it had started to seem like only yesterday since he had left his game, but now the years seemed long again. Ted was looking at him sincerely, and Ned behind him was doing the same. "We never thought we'd see you again," Ted murmured.

"I see," was all Turbo could seem to mutter, feeling vague and a bit disoriented at the thought. Ted's words didn't make sense in his head, didn't translate to anything he could understand in that dark, angry place of his mind. He shook his head suddenly and cleared his throat, trying to get himself back on track without seeming too rattled.

"Well you can't stay here again," he said suddenly. He hoisted himself up and ran his claws over his face, eventually brushing back the hair at the sides of his head. "When the arcade closes, you two have got to go back. I can't risk someone coming out this way looking for you, even if you did ask to be left alone. You're going to make people suspicious. I need more time to figure things out and come up with some course of action, and I'm not having you two imbeciles screw this up."

Ted smirked faintly at the insult; a sure sign that Turbo had shifted to a better mood. He glanced at Ned, sucking the last of the chocolate off his fingers and brushing his hand off on his jumpsuit. "Right, right," he said. "As soon as the arcade closes, off we go." He looked back at Turbo with a grin.

Turbo lowered his hands and faced the two of them, frowning. "What's that look for?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Ted said, waving his hands. "Just wondering."

"Wondering what?" Turbo muttered, moving closer to them with a suspicious eye.

Ted pointed toward Turbo, wiggling his finger a little. "You've got wings, right?"

Turbo frowned, but he let his wings flicker to life with a quiet buzz, flexing them slightly.

"Can you fly?"

"Yes..."

"Can we go for a ride?"

Turbo scowled, sitting back on his hind legs. "What the hell are you talking about? Don't you listen to a word I say? I don't want people finding me."

"It wouldn't have to be very high!" Ned piped up, suddenly made eager by the idea. "We've never flown before!"

Ted smiled and nodded. "You can hear how far away they are out there. I'll bet they can't even see this side of Sugar Rush from some of the far tracks."

Turbo gaped at the two of them. "You're out of your minds!"

"Please!" Ned cried, rushing up to Turbo, followed closely by his brother. Turbo leaned back from them, grimacing as they cried in unison, "Take us up!"

"You'll get me killed!" he barked.

"You'll regenerate!" Ted answered, grinning. "Come on, please! No one will see, they're too busy racing anyway! You know how it is!"

Turbo bore his teeth, glaring at Ted so hard that he didn't notice as Ned slipped around to the side and began to clamber up onto his back. He turned swiftly when he noticed what the other twin was doing. "Get off!"

"You owe us!" Ned cried, pulling himself up onto Turbo's back.

It was hard to argue with that. Turbo clenched his claws, looking at Ted swiftly, who was smiling rather smugly back at him. He unclenched his claws slowly, shifting his weight as Ned tried to balance himself across his armored back. "Fine," he muttered, snatching Ted's jumpsuit by the shoulder and heading swiftly for the entrance to the cave. Ted stumbled along beside him, grinning.

They stood at the mouth of the cave a while, listening to the sounds of the engines.

"See?" Ted said. "They're at the far end of the game. I'll bet they can't even see this far, especially not with all those mountains over there."

Turbo frowned deeply. It was still hard for him to tell for sure how far away those engines were, but he was reluctant to agree they weren't close. He couldn't believe he was doing this, couldn't believe these two little buggers could still pressure him into something. All those years, they'd been bigger than him, and now even when he was twice—no, three times!—their size, they were still pushing him around! And now he couldn't even get back at them on the racetrack! He hissed through his teeth, buzzing his wings as he prepared to fly.

"Alright," he muttered. "Hold on."

Ned clung tight to the ridge of Turbo's shoulders. Ted, however, simply looked toward Turbo, blinking. Turbo's clawed hand was still clutching the shoulder of his jumpsuit, but other than that he was virtually unsupported. "Er, Turbo..."

"Shut up."

"But-"

Turbo leaped into the air, his wings buzzing to life with a hum. He tugged Ted up off his feet with one hand, tearing an even bigger hole in the shoulder of his jumpsuit as he did. Ted let out a cry as he fell for a split second before Turbo's insectile legs reached out and tugged him in to his belly. After that, Turbo advanced upwards quickly, clearing the mouth of the cave and rising up into the sky in front of the mountain. The wind came at them suddenly, bringing with it the smell of candies and sugars. Turbo breathed in deeply and tried to calm his beating heart as the landscape opened up below him, the old familiar tracks and terrains revealing themselves. He had risen about to the peak of the mountain when he stopped, hovering, gazing down over the landscape before them, the land of Sugar Rush spread out below.

"Holy," Ted muttered, clinging to the insectile legs that supported him.

Ned was speechless, looking around them with wide, eager eyes.

Turbo breathed in shakily, then swallowed, hovering up and down as his wings buzzed at his back. He had never had this view before. Not, at least, when he could take note of it. The only other chance he'd had was when the land was infested with cybugs, and he was intent on destroying it all. Now, looking out over the land as he had always known it, he had a hard time believing he had ever been ready to see it destroyed. It seemed even more beautiful than he remembered it from racing. So many tracks he knew by heart, the twists and turns he had raced all these years. He could do them blindfolded!

"This was my kingdom," he murmured.

Ted tilted his head to look up at him. Ned clung tighter to Turbo's shoulders, pulling himself up. "You sure chose a good game to jump to, Turbo!"

Ted blinked and added quickly, "Not that we support your game jumping!"

Turbo smirked faintly, then he closed his eyes and laughed, tucking Ted in closer against him. The twins both smiled, holding to their old friend, looking out over the pink and purple landscape that could soon be their own home. Turbo himself could think of nothing but how happy this game had made him. In spite of all his lies, his deception, Sugar Rush was a good game, a fine game! It had been good to be King Candy, to race these roads, to call this place his home. His home! Maybe it wasn't a prison after all.


	5. Chapter Four - Gift

_Author Notes: Someone commented on the last chapter about the way I've been describing Candybug's movements—thank you so much! You have no idea what that means to me. Conveying Candybug's movements in a way that captures the grace and fluidity of what we see in the movie was a huge focus for me in writing this. I'm super honored that someone thought I captured that well!_

_This is the first time I address King Candy as a separate personality from Turbo. I'll get into it more later, but in the meantime, just let me assure you that within the headcanon for this story, Turbo and King Candy are one single identity—they're just two separate 'moods' or personalities. _

___Also, I have my good friend Phin to thank for coming up with the nickname Ted uses for Turbo in this chapter. This won't be the last time you'll hear it!_

* * *

Chapter Four - Gifts

Ned stretched himself out til his toes brushed the arm at the far end of the bench. Beside him, Ted was still on his side, the cotton candy blanket President Vanellope had given them the day before tugged up under his chin. She had invited them to spend the night in Sugar Rush, but they'd politely refused, returning to Game Central and their usual bench for the time being. Ned shifted around a bit and sat up on the bench with a yawn. Beside him, Ted blinked open sleepy eyes and rolled onto his back.

Game Central Station was, as always, bathed in a warm almost heavenly light, but this time of day (early morning, pre-arcade hours), it was mostly quiet. The station was empty but for the few other gameless characters, most of them camped out near the terminals that used to connect to their own homes, and a few early risers taking strolls or heading home after a night away. Ned took a quiet look around at these few individuals: a couple of sickly looking soldiers wandering out of Tapper's, a tall woman in an impressive combat ensemble who always avoided eye contact with them, and Fix-It Felix, Jr., just stepping out of the Hero's Duty terminal and heading into the main station to return to his own game.

Felix was smiling dreamily as he wandered somewhat crookedly toward the Fix It Felix, Jr. terminal, taking his sweet time with slow, uneven steps. Ned caught his eye and raised a hand to wave, and Felix smiled amiably and shifted in his path to head over to them. "Good morning, boys," he said with the sort of quietly polite voice one uses in a library.

Ned smiled back at him sleepily. "Morning, Fix-It." Ted raised a hand in a greeting and yawned.

Felix's smile grew a bit eager as he looked back at Ned, clutching his hands in front of him. "I heard the two of you might be joining Sugar Rush soon!" His exclamation came somewhere just above a whisper. "I just wanted to let you know how very pleased and excited I am for the both of you."

Ted smiled sleepily, his eyes barely open. "Thanks, Fix-It. We may even be moving in soon..."

A warm blush lighted Felix's face. "That is just so wonderful," he said. Ned smiled at him quietly. He had always liked Felix. He was one of the few members of the arcade who had always been genuinely kind to them, even directly after Turbo's betrayal and disappearance. "It has always troubled my heart to see you two out here without a game," he said, speaking softly but quite sincerely. "May I just say, for what it's worth, I am so very sorry for the way folk have been treating you two lately. People've got no right to blame you for what Turbo went and did in Sugar Rush. Or back in Road Blasters either, for that matter."

Ted stared up at Felix quietly.

"I've always liked you two," Felix said, a bit sadly, looking from one to the other. "I liked Turbo too. But it's not fair, people judging you by him. I just want you to know, I think you'll be downright dandy additions to Sugar Rush."

"Thank you," they murmured in unison. Ned's smile felt a bit strained now. Lying, or at least omitting truths, wasn't in his nature, and discussing Turbo was making him increasingly uncomfortable. In hopes of changing the subject, he asked suddenly, "How are you and Sgt. Calhoun?"

Felix's cheeks flushed a deep red. He smiled and glanced down, sighing dreamily. "Delightful, just delightful."

Felix stayed with the twins a little longer, taking a seat on the bench across from them to sit and chat. It was welcome company. As much as they had enjoyed being with Turbo the last few days, it was a bit refreshing to be spoken to by someone who didn't constantly have to be coaxed out of anger. Felix was about as polar opposite as one could get to Turbo.

Eventually, Game Central Station began to bustle with activity as arcade hours drew nearer, and Felix was forced to excuse himself to get back to his own game in time for opening. He shook hands with both of them and wished them well once again, ending his goodbyes with an invitation that they should come visit him in Fix-It Felix, Jr. Even though he couldn't offer them a racetrack, he did offer food and friendship and a place to stay for the night, if they wanted. They thanked him gratefully and he was off with a bounce in his step.

The station cleared out again shortly after that, as all the characters returned to their daily work, leaving the twins sitting alone on their bench, considering all of the things that had been happening to them the last few days.

"Maybe we should take Felix up on his offer," Ted said.

Ned glanced at him curiously. "And not visit You-Know-Who today?"

"Well," Ted murmured thoughtfully, "I just remembered something from a long while back. Tomorrow's Sunday, right?" Ned nodded. "Let's go visit Fix-It tonight then...We can see King Turbo Bug tomorrow."

Ned leaned over and shushed his brother, who only smiled and pushed him away with a laugh.

* * *

"Turbo~o!"

Turbo raised his head. He hadn't expected to see the twins today. It was Sunday so the arcade was closed, and since they hadn't visited him the day before, he anticipated they were busy with the glitch's plans to incorporate them into Sugar Rush. He hoisted himself up and stepped forward to the mouth of the cave, watching as Ted and Ned came up the hill toward him, all smiles.

"Would you mind not shouting my name?" Turbo muttered cautiously as they approached. His eyes had gone to Ned, who was grinning widely, his arms behind his back. "What are you hiding?"

"Don't be so suspicious," Ted said, waving a hand. "We brought you something."

They stepped up in front of him, exchanging a glance. Turbo craned his long neck to try and peer behind them. Ned hesitated, then brimming with excitement, tugged a large, cherry pie out from behind his back. "Surprise!"

Turbo blinked. It was a Fix It Felix, Jr. pie, the likes of which he hadn't seen in years.

"We know you used to have a soft spot for 'em," Ted said, shrugging, "and even if your tastes have changed, it wasn't much effort to get it for you. Fix-It invited us over."

Turbo hesitated a little, feeling a strange kind of mild embarrassment at the twin's accurate assessment of his tastes. No one else knew him this well. He crept forward hesitantly and reached out his claws as an eager Ned held the pie forward to him. "Thanks," he said softly, and a bit awkwardly, touching the dish tenderly so not to puncture the crust with his claws.

The twins both smiled up at him. "Guess you still like them," Ned said, pleased.

Turbo glanced down at the two, and still feeling embarrassed, he turned aside from them and took a few skittering steps away before he thumped down to a sit with his back to them, hunching slightly over his prize. He spent a brief moment looking down at the unfamiliar thing, trying to fathom the best way to go getting it from the dish to his mouth, then he shifted the dish to one hand and and scooped out out a lump of the pie with the other. The twins stepped over to him, matching one another step-for-step. "The racers are on the tracks today," Ted said.

"So I hear," Turbo murmured as he brought a handful of the pie to his mouth. He was trying his best to hide the pleasure he felt at the taste of it, but it was difficult work. It had been so long that he had forgotten what these cherry pies tasted like, and after years of nothing but ultra sugar-sweet candy, it was a great joy to have the homemade tart of the cherry in his mouth. Even those cherries topping the mountains in Sugar Rush were candied, super sweet and a bit sickening at times. They couldn't compare to this. It was fantastic.

"Vanellope showed us a room at the palace," Ned said. "The one we can have if we join the game."

Turbo turned to look at them quickly, cherry pie on his face and dripping from his claws. "...oh?"

Ted glanced aside, snickering faintly. "Yep. She even invited us to race with them today."

Turbo blinked at them. "...you should go!"

"Well," Ted said, tilting his head a little and looking back at Turbo, "we wanted to give you this first."

Turbo blinked at him, then glanced at Ned, who was also smiling quietly. Turbo curled his claws, squishing some of the pie filling out of the dish and onto the floor without realizing it. Then he suddenly stuffed the remainder of the pie into his mouth, tossing the dish aside and lifting his claws to his mouth to lick them clean. "Okay, you've given it, so go!"

Ted looked from the pie filling on the floor up to Turbo again. He raised his brows and motioned to him vaguely. "You're not gonna lick the floor are you?"

Turbo paused, then quickly lowered his hands. He lifted himself up and advanced toward the two. "Just get out, will you?! You've got a shot at fitting in here!"

The twins stumbled back as they were ushered, or more accurately, pushed, out of the cave. Turbo raised his hand to wipe the filling from his face and finished licking it off his claws, kicking out his tiny forelegs at them as he pushed them out. "Turbo, we didn't know you cared!" Ned called, laughing a little.

"Quit shouting my name!" he hissed, shooting Ted a look as he stifled a laugh as well.

He pushed the two just to the mouth of the cave, where they both stopped, looking up at him with equally annoying smiles. He gestured emphatically toward the forest. "What?" he snapped. "Go!"

The twins both looked at one another, then back at Turbo, opening their arms to him. He drew back his claws and leaned back from them. "...what?" They both wiggled their fingers expectantly. He grimaced sharply, then stepped forward, leaning in to tug them both into a hug before releasing them quickly. "Alright, get going!"

The two waved to their friend and hurried back down the hill, through the gumdrop forest. Turbo watched with a frown. Ned had a red stain on the back of his jumpsuit from where Turbo's pie-coated hand had gripped him. Once they had gone out of sight, Turbo heard the sound of the engines as they drove off toward the track where the others were already racing. He finished cleaning his hand and lowered it slowly, looking out over the landscape and thinking of the twins racing there with the Sugar Rush racers. They'd be stiff competition, that was for sure. They had teamwork like none other. He wanted very much to go with them.

He turned back to the interior of the cave, regarding the mess he'd made with the cherry pie filling. Was he above licking it off the floor? The cave and its floor were made of candy...He scowled faintly. Well, no one was around to see him anyway.

* * *

The pie had put Turbo into a surprisingly good mood. For once he wasn't brooding about in his cave, thinking of ways to break into the code vault. He found he was more content to think about how beautiful Sugar Rush was, and how much he enjoyed the twins' visits. There was certainly a part of him prodding the back of his mind, trying to remind him of the endless list of frustrations and set-backs ahead, but he seemed more able than usual to push those thoughts back. He felt a bit more like King Candy today, and that set him at ease. He also noticed with some amusement that the cherry pie had manifested itself in his cybug body in the form of a number of red rings around his clawed fingers. They smelled and tasted fondly of the pie.

Since he knew the racers were on the track, and he knew the twins would do what they could to keep from the race from coming to his end of the game, Turbo felt relatively safe going outside the cave. He explored the landscape a bit, occasionally buzzing up into the air to perch at the top of candy formations, to look out a bit better over the land. He could see the palace, from certain angles. For some reason, his mind went to Sour Bill, and he found that he missed his old assistant. He wondered vaguely what had happened to him, if he was miserable serving "President" Vanellope. He wondered if he missed serving his king.

Yes, this was definitely King Candy's persona, he thought curiously. Wouldn't it be convenient if I could learn to glitch back and forth.

He smiled when he heard the twins' engines later that day. He had been exploring around the backside of the candied mountain and had found a tunnel just large enough to fit himself through, leading to to an underground hot chocolate spring, like the ones accessed at the palace to be used for hot chocolate baths. Reminiscing about those royal baths, he spent the better part of the afternoon soaking there, pleased that though the tactile sensations of the cybug body were quite different than he was used to, the warmth still seemed to provide a relaxing effect in him.

He skittered out of the tunnel and around the mountain to the front side, just meeting the twins as they were stepping into the cave. The twins gave him a rather blank look when he bounded up to them, grinning eagerly. "Why you've spent the whole day out there racing! How did it go?"

Ned blinked a little uncertainly, stretching his arms out above his head. "Well the tracks are sure different than Turbo Time," he said, tilting his head a little at the unfamiliar expression Turbo was giving them.

"Challenging," Ted said, tilting his head as well, "but fun. And, ah, what exactly have you been up to?"

Turbo shook the last of the hot chocolate off of him, stepping past them into the cave. "Would you believe there's a simply delightful hot chocolate spring right round the back of this very mountain!" He chuckled, an altogether foreign sound to the twins. "All this time and I never even knew it was there! Very soothing though. Did you win any races?"

"Almost," Ted said, glancing at Ned.

Ned looked back at him, then to Turbo, frowning faintly. "Some of the racers really don't seem to like us..."

"They race kinda dirty," Ted said. "Like you, except, less concerned with winning and more concerned with knocking us off the track."

Turbo blinked and turned back toward them. He felt King Candy's persona slip off like a sheet. "What've they got against you?!" he barked.

The twins shot each other a look and smiled wryly back at him. "Ah, now there's Turbo," Ted said. "Who were we talking to a second ago?"

"It's always me!" Turbo insisted, waving his claws dismissively. "What do those brats think they're doing?!"

Ted pursed his lips, then shrugged weakly. "Well, it's kinda hard not to associate us with you."

Turbo frowned deeply. His heart sunk a bit, though he hid it. "Damn kids," he muttered, suddenly beginning to pace with a restless anger, which was rather a big ordeal for such a large creature. "Who do they think they are?"

The twins sighed a little. They hadn't wanted to upset Turbo, but they knew in a way it was inevitable. Turbo's moods were so quick and so fickle. The only option now was to distract him with something else. "I see you finished your pie," Ted said.

Turbo looked up quickly, blinking at him, then shot his eyes to the spot where the cherry color still stained the floor. He blushed with embarrassment and looked away quickly. "I didn't want to leave a mess" he muttered.

Ned smiled. "Can we stay the night with you? We told Vanellope we were going to explore again."

Turbo's blush faded and he frowned a bit grimly. "You're going to make her suspicious... Particularly if she offered you a room at the palace now."

"I don't think she's suspicious," Ted said, looking at Ned.

"We told her we're not used to having a room of our own, and we'd rather be out in the open." Ned smiled at Turbo. "I mean we've slept in Game Central for years. She seemed to understand."

Turbo shifted his weight on his legs, then nodded slowly. "Alright, fine."

* * *

"So what's your favorite track here?" Ted asked.

Turbo had lay down with the two of them a little while ago, and Ned had fallen quite promptly asleep, leaning against his right side. Ted was seated on the left, still very awake and in a talking mood, which was frustrating Turbo slightly, though he tried not to show it.

"Royal Raceway, I suppose," he muttered, a bit thoughtlessly. He liked a lot of the races in Sugar Rush; it was hard to choose just one.

Silence fell over the cave, except for the distant sound of voices, a few cheers. A party, likely, somewhere near the palace. Turbo turned his head at a faint knocking sound from beside him. Ted was looking up at him.

"Can you feel anything?" he asked.

Turbo looked down at him, taking note of Ted's fist lightly knocking against the armor on his side. "No," he answered. "Not really, anywhere below my chin...I suppose that's normal for an insect." He glanced back toward the cave opening.

Turbo gave a small start when he suddenly felt Ted's hand on his face. He looked at the racer sharply, his eyes flashing yellow. Ted stared back at him, clearly unintimidated. "This face of yours, did you make it or did you take it from someone else?"

Turbo grimaced faintly, then swatted Ted's hand away with a clawed hand. "That's a long story, and I'm not going into it now."

Ted was silent. Turbo noticed his hand just before it came to rest on his face again. "Okay, but this nose-"

"Get off," Turbo growled, swatting the hand away again.

Ted smirked faintly. "You enjoyed being King Candy, didn't you? That's who we met earlier, wasn't it?"

Turbo looked down at him, stretching his neck upwards a little to be out of reach of the racer. "Yes," he muttered. He turned to look in the direction of the palace. "It was alright, I suppose. I got used to being him. I didn't really think about it." In truth, he had enjoyed it a good deal. A part of him even missed it. Missed it quite a lot. It had been almost something of a relief to have apparently tapped into what was left of King Candy's personality earlier that day. King Candy seemed to be significantly more at ease than Turbo, and it was convenient to have a bit of peace inside his head, even if it was short-lived.

"Hey Turbo?"

"What?"

"'Scuse me, if this is a bit, well, inappropriate," Ted murmured thoughtfully, "but I was just curious. I mean, we've been seeing a lot of Vanellope lately, and, she seems really nice. I mean, she's been doing a lot for me and Ned. But considering what happened between you and her, it just seems strange to me that you're not near as mad at her as I'd expect you to be."

Turbo glanced at him, lowering his head a little again. "Well..."

"I mean, she sort of ruined the good thing you had going here. And, no offense, but you've always been, well, a vengeful sort." He stretched an arm up and put his hand on Turbo's face again. Turbo pulled back with a faint snarl.

"Cut it out," he growled. "Don't get me wrong, I can't stand that little glitch and I wouldn't mind some vengeance if I could get it, but racing is more important than revenge. And if I can race again, that has to come first. Well, that and you two." He perked a little as the words came out of his mouth, surprised at himself by what he'd said.

Ted blinked up at him. "Us two?"

Turbo coughed, mildly embarrassed and also uncertain about what he was saying. "W-well," he grumbled, "if you've got a shot at a new life here, then," he hesitated, drawing his claws up slightly. "Then...I'm not going to jeopardize that." There was a softness in his voice that was unfamiliar to Ted. King Candy again, maybe, he thought.

"Thanks," Ted murmured. He was silent a moment before he spoke up again, "Now let me touch your face."

Turbo's softness turned to a scowl. "What for?"

"Can I just?" Ted raised his brows at him, reaching upward toward Turbo's outstretched neck.

Turbo growled faintly. Being a cybug apparently didn't seem to make any difference in the way the twins treated him. He lowered his head slowly, frowning. "Fine."

Ted smiled and put out his hand, laying it against Turbo's forehead, over his left eye. After a moment, the skin there flickered briefly to a pale grey before it returned to King Candy's fleshy skintone. Ted smiled a little. Turbo blushed faintly, embarrassed at Ted's ability to push him around, even now. "Can you at least tell me why?"

"Look, maybe it doesn't make any difference, okay?" Ted said. "But there's a reason gameless characters stick together with others from their game. A lot of people think it's good for them. Helps keep them alive. And it's been a really long time since you connected with anybody from Turbo Time. I thought it might help some. I mean, I don't really know what it'll help, but...well, it can't hurt."

Turbo glanced at him quietly. After a moment, he lifted a clawed hand and placed it heavily on Ted's helmet. Ted smiled, pushing back the helmet slightly to clear his eyes. He looked up at Turbo gratefully. In spite of himself, Turbo smiled.


	6. Chapter Five - Stay

_Author Notes: I want to seriously thank everyone who has been reading and particularly those who have been reviewing this fanfiction. It means so much to me. And the fact that people have been complimenting my writing style is just...it means a lot. I actually went to school for writing, but after four years of study, I'm still very shy about sharing my creative work. Uploading this and having other people read it is a big deal to me. So thank you so much for reading and for all your kind words._

_Someone asked me where I get the ideas for this fic, and I'll be honest, I get them from all over the place. A lot has come from the Turbo fandom itself, which is really rich in ideas and interpretations, some comes from my own original stories and characters whose personality traits fit well for the twins, and some comes from other films and books (there's a bit in this chapter inspired by a scene in HTTYD). And also, of course, there are bits that just come from my own life. Although I'm in no way a raging psychopath, the sort of anxieties that Turbo displays in this chapter are definitely things from my personal life. So, my ideas come from all over! The basic premise for this story just comes from a personal interest in characters who are loyal to a fault and characters who feel they don't deserve/can't afford that kind of loyalty. So, that's the twins and Turbo._

_I tend to write out of order, and this was the last chapter I added to the story. In many ways, it still feels a bit segmented to me, but the primary scene in it was one of my very favorites to write in the whole fic. The first bit with Vanellope still feels choppy, but the rest of it is rather close to my heart. This is the first bit of the story to hit on a more serious note, and I really adored writing the dialogue. Also, Turbo's rather stream-of-consciousness internal narratives. I enjoy doing those._

_And against my intent, my chapters keep getting longer. T_T I'm sorry._

* * *

Chapter Five - Stay

Vanellope tugged off her racing helmet with a laugh, turning to look over her shoulder as the twins' karts skidded to a stop behind her. Ted threw up his arms in defeat, laughing with a shake of his head, and Ned grinned eagerly as he leaned low over the wheel of his own kart.

"What?" she called laughingly at Ted. "You almost won that one!"

"Almost?!" Ted dropped his hands back to the wheel of his kart. He shook his head again with a grin, looking at her. "It wasn't even close! You know that glitch of yours might be considered an unfair advantage!"

Vanellope scoffed, pushing herself up to sit on the back of her kart's seat as she turned to look round at the two of them. "How about your weird twinny teamwork, huh? You two keep ganging up on me!"

Ned smiled quietly, leaning on his dash and looking up at Vanellope. It was true, of course, but it was how he and Ted had always raced. "We'll beat you sooner or later."

Vanellope smiled back at him, sticking out her tongue playfully. Her attempt to incorporate the twins into one of the casual races with the Sugar Rush racers after hours had been something of a fiasco. She had hoped the other racers would be able to appreciate the twins' involvement, but she had been unable to deny the number of cheap shots her subjects took at the two newcomers. Hoping to give the twins a better time at least until she could improve the Sugar Rush racers' opinion of them, she had invited them to race two-on-one with her. Skipping the roster race herself, she spent the entire day with them, keeping tabs on which tracks were being played and racing with the twins on the others. A few times, they'd been forced to forfeit races because the track they were on was suddenly chosen by a player, but she thought, if anything, the twins found the sneaking around to be a bit exciting.

This last race had been a tight one, with the three cars never getting far apart. She had managed to beat them, but Ted was right—if not for her glitching, they probably would have won. They were impressive racers and she was eager to have them join the game, if only she could only get more of the Sugar Rush racers on their side.

"Well," she said, glancing across the landscape to where the cheers at the palace were dying down. "The arcade should be closing now, so we can pretty much race anywhere you want."

Ned glanced at Ted, who continued to look at Vanellope, a practiced smile on his keen face. "Actually, would you mind if Ned and I just raced on our own? We've gotta practice if we've ever gonna beat you."

Vanellope laughed and glanced at Ned, who was smiling his best (strained) smile. "Sure, go ahead. Heading back to Chocolate Twist? You two sure spend a lot of time over there—it's a beginner track, you know!"

Ted didn't skip a beat, waving his hand dismissively. "Ah, it's simple though. Reminds us of Turbo Time, you know? Don't you worry about us." He smirked competitively and she smirked in return, sliding back into the seat of her kart.

"Alright, then," she said, tugging her helmet back on and looking back at them. "Practice hard, 'cause you're gonna need it!"

Ted waved her off, leaning back in his seat. "Rematch tomorrow, after the arcade closes! Just you wait!"

Vanellope laughed and waved over her shoulder, revving her engine and taking off. Ned raised a meek hand to wave after her as she left, then he glanced at Ted, whose smile faded as Vanellope drove away. He glanced at his brother and sighed, shrugging. Ted was better at lying than his brother. But he didn't enjoy it any more.

* * *

When the arcade had opened that morning, and the twins went to meet with Vanellope, they had left Turbo in a quiet mood, brainstorming his plans for sneaking across the Sugar Rush landscape. But unfortunately, Turbo had gotten himself into a foul mood as the day wore on. Even if he had been in his right mind, it would have been difficult for him to pinpoint the exact trigger of his emotional state. But it had all started about halfway through arcade hours, when the sound of the kart engines out on the tracks seemed so loud to him that he could no longer tune them out. He simply lay, staring, bitter and spiteful, and wondering what gave anyone the right to race while he was trapped in this grotesque body on the sidelines. And the twins, he thought, were just as guilty as the rest of them...

What were they doing in Sugar Rush anyway? All that crap Ted had fed him about 'family' just didn't add up. It didn't make sense. Besides, they had come to Sugar Rush long before they knew he was still around. They came to race, they came to compete. They came because they were _invited,_ actually _invited, _to join a game he had spent years infiltrating, reprogramming to meet his every need. They were _walking_ right in and being _welcomed_ with open arms! Who did they think they were? What did they think they were doing in his game? _Racing in his game?!_

Somewhere in his head, a voice was telling him to give it a rest, to forget his obsessive paranoia and be grateful for the kindness the twins were showing him. But he ignored the voice and continued on growing angrier, feeling more and more threatened by the innocent actions of the only two confidants he had.

When Ted and Ned returned at the end of the day, they found him lying in the entrance of the cave, staring out over the landscape with a dark glare and not even seeming to see them as they approached.

"Looks like somebody's in a good mood," Ted muttered, climbing up the hill toward him.

Turbo glanced at them finally, speaking in almost a growl. "Where were you two?"

Ted raised a brow at him. "We were racing with Vanellope."

"With the glitch!" Turbo snapped, his body tensing. "How delightful!"

Ted and Ned exchanged a quick look and raised their brows. "Well, something's got you all worked up," Ted muttered. Turbo huffed and looked away from them, his body arched slightly with tension. The twins stepped quietly into the cave, moving close to him. "You wanna talk about it?" Ted asked gently.

"No!" Turbo snapped.

Then he suddenly lifted his head and turned on them as though an idea had struck him. "I've changed my mind-yes! I would like to talk about it, yes, as long as you've asked so kindly." He raised himself up suddenly and his wings buzzed to life. He extended his claws hands, towering over them with a toothy sneer. For the first time since their initial encounter, Ted felt a raw, sick reaction in his gut and he quickly pushed his brother behind him. Ned stumbled, holding onto Ted's shoulder and watching Turbo fearfully. The king-faced cybug advanced on them eagerly, his body raised to its full height, his neck twisted round to their level. "I'd like to talk about what the hell you two think you're doing here in Sugar Rush anyway! You think you can just join this game, no questions asked? You think it's that easy?!" He clenched his fangs, a red static glitch rippling through him. "I sold my soul to be a part of this game!"

Ted grimaced as he and Ned were backed up against the wall of the cave. It was the first time Ted recognized how fragile this friendship was, and how risky his and Ned's behavior had been. Turbo had always had a temper, and infrequently been pushed to violence, but he'd never actually been capable of inflicting it before. Still, cybug or not, there was only one way to deal with Turbo. So, he clenched his fists and shouted back. "What's got you so worked up?! We thought you wanted us here!"

Turbo clenched his claws into his palms, then extended them with a flick of his wrists, gesturing wildly. "Wanted you here?! Why would I _want_ you here?! You've been nothing but a pain in the ass since the day we met!" He arched himself over them, forcing them back against the wall. Ted's arm lay defensively across his brother's chest. "I thought I got rid of you years ago, but apparently getting Turbo Time unplugged just wasn't enough!" He craned his neck close, hissing through his teeth as he reached a hand forward and brushed those razor claws against Ted's neck. "But if you think you can come into _my_ game and race _my _tracks-!"

Without warning, Ted swung forward and punched Turbo hard in the face. Turbo drew back swiftly, his face flickering over to grey skin, yellow eyes wide with surprise, before King Candy's visage returned, still in shock. Ted immediately pressed his free hand to the cut on his neck, never hesitating a moment for pain or fear or anger's sake. "It's not your game anymore, bastard! You lost your game!"

"Lost...?" Turbo swallowed the lump in his throat. His clawed hands were trembling. He stared wide-eyed at Ted and Ned for a moment before his eyes flickered down to the blood-Ted's blood-on his claws. Then with a flash of red static, his anger returned, coursing through him like fire. "You two have no right being here! You've got no business trying to help me!" The anger in his voice cracked with pain. "I'm the one who ruined your lives, remember?!"

"It'd be kind of hard to forget!" Ted shouted back at him.

Turbo thrust his neck out toward him again. "Get out of my game!"

"It's not yours!"

Turbo abruptly reached out and grabbed Ted by the shoulder, tugging him and Ned along and pushing them both toward the cave entrance. He stalked after them as they now stumbled toward the opening. "I don't want you here!"

"Well we're not going!" Ted grabbed Ned's arm and held his ground. Ned stumbled and hung onto his brother.

"Why not?!" Turbo stopped in front of them, his eyes flashing. For the first time now, the twins could see the faintest glimmer of tears rimming those eyes. Bitter tears, full of years of hate and anger and rage. "Why the hell do you care what happens to me?!"

"Because we love you!" Ted shouted. "You're our brother! We care about you! And even though you left us, we will _never_ leave you!"

Turbo stared at him, his eyes wide. There was a moment of heavy silence. Then Turbo felt a deep pain in his chest and he turned swiftly away, scuttling off into the back of the cave, away from them. He intended to sit, to drop himself down and...and what? And cower, and curl himself up and hide. But he couldn't be still, he couldn't stop the thoughts in his head and his body was raging with restlessness. He began pacing deliberately, skittered back and forth, his claws clicking anxiously against one another as his eyes cast about the floor.

Ned touched Ted's arm and he turned to look back at his brother quickly. Ned gave him a quiet, worried look and squeezed his arm gently, his eyes shifting to Ted's hand, still pressed to the wound at his neck. Ted glanced down as well, lifting his hand and glancing at the blood on his fingers. The cut wasn't bad, but it stung, and the blood had stained the collar of his jumpsuit. He'd have to come up with a story to explain to Felix. More lies... Ned pulled a rag out of his jumpsuit pocket and held it out to his brother solemnly. Without a word, Ted took the cloth and tied it around his neck.

He had hoped his words would mean something, would change something. But watching Turbo now, he couldn't tell what effect those words had had. And in his own head, he began to wonder if what Turbo had yelled had been true, if maybe this all was just wishful thinking and the three of them could never really be happy together again. It had been years, and...he had to admit that Turbo had changed. Not just in appearance, in avatar, but...he wasn't the same Turbo who had laid in the grass on the edge of the track and laughed with them through the night. He had changed a lot since they had known him.

Ted swallowed, and the bandage felt tight at his throat.

"I...guess we'll head back to Game Central Station for the night."

Turbo didn't react. He just continued pacing, his back to them.

Ted turned reluctantly. Ned released his brother's arm and let his fingers slip down, grasping Ted's bloodied hand gently in his own. Ted gave it a gentle squeeze. He was shaking.

Turbo continued pacing, his eyes on the floor, his mind racing. This didn't make sense, it didn't, it couldn't. He had nearly attacked them. Ted's blood was on his hand! What was he thinking, why was he acting like this? He was a wretch, an awful wretch and a nuisance and a cheater; he always had been, he always would be. Reckless and angry and violent and...and loved? How? Their brother? Why? After all he'd done, why? He put his face in his hands, tugging his claws against his skin. He couldn't make sense of it, of them. _He lost his game._ Their game, he lost it...How could they say that? He was a winner, he never lost a race-no, not a race, a game._ The_ game. His game. Turbo Time. Not this, not Sugar Rush. This didn't belong to him. Of course they weren't here to steal from him, to hurt him, to get back at him. If they wanted to, they'd have done it by now, but they hadn't. So why bother, why keep coming back to see him? Visit him, stay with him, speak kindly to him. No one spoke to him that way, not even in all the years he'd been king, had anyone ever really...spoken like they...

He clenched his claws with a series of clicks and turned suddenly, his head high. "Wait!"

The twins hesitated. They turned back together, their gazes hurt but hopeful. Turbo stared at them with his hands trembling, his body frozen in place. His mouth seemed to open without words for a moment, but eventually he stammered out, "D-don't leave me...You said you wouldn't leave me."

The twins stared at him, not moving. Suddenly Turbo rushed forward, nearly bounding out of the cave. He stretched out his arms and snatched them up against him. For a moment, he squeezed the racers hard enough that they could barely breathe, then he seemed to remember his strength and he loosed his grip and held them gently, brushing his face against their helmets. They couldn't be certain, but the both of them thought they heard him crying. They carefully reached out and held him in return, knowing he couldn't feel them, but doing it all the same, both of them silent, hopeful.

"I didn't mean what I said," he choked softly, "I didn't mean any of it, please...Please don't go." His claws were trembling on their backs.

"We won't," they said in unison.

* * *

Turbo had laid down in the cave again with Ted seated on his left, and Ned poking around on his right. They hadn't talked much since the afternoon, which was just as well, because there didn't seem to be much left to be said now. Turbo had spent a good thirty minutes trying to take back everything he'd yelled at them. With emotion they suspected befitted King Candy much more than Turbo, he anxiously admited that he wanted them there, that he was desperate not only for their help, but for their company. And with some gentle prodding, he was willing to admit with regret that Sugar Rush was not his game, and that, much as he may hate her, Vanellope (or "the glitch") was, in fact, Sugar Rush's true ruler.

When they had finished with this episode, the three of them were content to settle in and take a moment to breathe. Turbo felt weak and vulnerable from bearing himself so openly with the two of them, Ted was still working through his feelings about his and Ned's safety with Turbo, and Ned, bored with just sitting, had become increasingly curious about Turbo's cybug body and was fiddling about with his buggy feet and examining his armor. Turbo didn't seem to be paying him much attention, devoting his thoughts to accepting the words the twins had assured him of. _"We love you, you're our brother!"_ It was still hard to believe...

"You _will _have to go," Turbo murmured finally.

"Yeah, for tonight," Ted said softly. "But we'll be back. Every day if we can. We won't abandon you."

Turbo glanced at him quietly and nodded a little. He didn't want to say it, but he wished that the twins could stay, could live with him there. Ted was thinking the same. "I didn't mean to hurt you," Turbo said softly. It wasn't an apology, but it was more than Ted had expected from him.

"It's alright," he said, glancing down at the clawed hand with its cherry-red rings, setting lightly on the ground beside him. Ted's blood had dried on the underside. They had forgotten to clean it off. "But it would be great if you could get that anger of yours in check...Those are new, aren't they? The rings?"

Turbo glanced at Ted quietly. The racer picked up Turbo's hand in his own and the claws curled inward around his palm. "The pie," Turbo said faintly, grimacing at the dried blood he spied under the blades.

Ted glanced at Turbo, then looked back at the hand. He lifted it enough to get a whiff of the unmistakable scent of Fix It Felix, Jr.'s classic cherry pie. He smirked faintly and set the hand back down. "Curious talent, you've got there." Turbo glanced away.

"I've got some ideas," he said, clearing his throat. "About getting to the palace...I think we can time it right to get there unseen. I just need to figure out a place to hide that's closer to the palace itself. I'm wracking my brains trying to remember the layout of the area around there. Some place the glitch hasn't already found out about. As for getting inside...I'm still working that out."

Ted nodded faintly. He scratched under his chin with his thumb and prodded at the cloth at his neck lightly. The wound still stung. He had gotten into a crash, he would tell Felix, a shard of candy cane had snapped over the hood of the car and sliced him across the neck; could he take care of it? Felix would believe that. "Well, we're with you," he said to Turbo, "all the way. Just say the word."

Turbo glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. He was so grateful, he didn't have words. Not that he'd have said them if he did have them. Turbo was silent for a moment, then he murmured softly, "Where do you think this is going...?"

Ted looked at him quietly.

"I mean...what do you expect to happen, if this actually works?" He lowered his eyes quietly. "If I get my avatar back, if I'm Turbo again, it won't bode well for you, and even if that glitch can't prove you helped me, things will be a mess for you and Ned again, and here in Sugar Rush..." He trailed off, unable to make much sense out of what his own plans were. If he figured out how to return to his old avatar, would he continue trying to hide? He'd have to. He could never go back to Game Central. So what good would being able to race again be if he still had to hide?

"To be honest," Ted said gently, "I haven't really thought it through. And you haven't either, I figure. I mean, we've always been the same, you know. Me and Ned, we're just like you. Impulsive. We never think things through. You need help, so we're helping. Whatever happens along the way, we'll figure it out as it comes to us."

Turbo thought this over wryly._ Like him_. Nothing about the twins was like him. Certainly they were impulsive, but they were selflessly impulsive, acting on a whim to help someone-someone like him-while everything he ever did was selfish. Well, until now, maybe. He wasn't certain yet. He lifted his head a little, taking a breath. "Well...it's getting late. The glitch will be waiting, so you two should really get-" He stopped suddenly, blinking, a glitch shivering through him from his head down to his tail. Ted blinked at him. Abruptly, Turbo's neck seemed to go slack and he dropped his chin down to his arms, his entire body loosening itself up as he sighed in an almost pleasant way. Ted stared at him in confusion, then turned quickly to look at Ned who was sitting straddled across Turbo's back with his hand at the base of one of the cybug's wings. Ned looked back at his brother, eyes wide and surprised.

"...what did you do?" Ted murmured.

Ned shrugged, looking down at Turbo, who seemed to be recovering from his reaction a bit awkwardly. He shifted his legs a little with a scuffle and tilted his head to look up at the twin on his back, seeming rather sleepy. "Ned...Get off."

Ned paused, then leaned down a bit closer against Turbo's back. He brushed his hand in the space below the wing, where he could just get his fingers under the armor plating to a soft bit of skin underneath. Turbo's eyes slipped closed and he let out a pleasant sigh, almost smiling as he lay the side of his head against his arms and relaxed in a way they had never quite seen before. The twins both blinked at him.

"We've got to remember this," Ned said quietly.

Ted smirked, leaning down close to Turbo's face. The king-faced cybug seemed to be almost asleep, making a faint purring sound in his throat. "Wish the regular Turbo had a sweet spot like that. Would have been a lot of help in the old days." He stared at his old friend, smiling lightly. "Must be a pressure point. When did he get so cute, anyway?"

"We've never seen him relaxed before," Ned said, laying himself down on Turbo's back, massaging the spot just under the armor with his right hand.

Ted's smirk shifted into a smile and he touched his thumb to Turbo's forehead. The cybug opened one eye and glanced up at him sleepily. "Don't you ever forget how we feel about you, okay? I meant what I said earlier."

Turbo stared at him solemnly with that one eye. Then he slowly let it close and was silent, opening his toothy mouth to yawn, before he settled his head down comfortably on his arms and relaxed again. Ted glanced at Ned, who carefully and quietly lifted his hand from the spot at the wing. Turbo didn't seem to react or wake up, so Ned carefully slipped down to join his brother, who smiled at him gently. "Let's get going," he whispered. "Maybe we can get back before he wakes up tomorrow."

"Okay," Ned said quietly, glancing back at Turbo as his brother headed quietly for the hill. Ned hunkered down briefly, resting his elbows on his knees and gazing down at the cybug in front of him. Ted glanced back as he realized Ned wasn't with him and paused, watching. "Turbo," Ned said quietly, not really knowing if his friend could hear him or not, "we'll be back tomorrow." He leaned down close, smiling gently. "We won't ever leave you. Promise."


	7. Chapter Six - Glitch

_Author Notes: In which I attempt to introduce a plot in the midst of all this fluff. And explain this fic's headcanon for how Turbo became King Candy. Sorry for the obligatory exposition bit. Was I writing a longer story, I'd have developed it and had it revealed more slowly, but. I also thought about getting into the Turbo Time backstory here, but I decided to put it off. Didn't want to have too much exposition in one chapter. So, it'll come eventually._

_Also, I recently realized thanks to someone who uploaded some ref screenshots of Candybug, that in my head I've been thinking of Candybug as being significantly smaller than he actually is. So, for the sake of this story, I've scaled him down a bit (folk who have been on my Tumblr already know this). This'll get acknowledged at some point, but I really don't have too big an excuse for it except that I really did not realize just how huge he was in the film. (Sorry.)_

_As always, thank you so much for reading. I truly appreciate all the kind words and comments I've received on this story. And hopefully this chapter will pique your interest, because things actually -happen- in it. Amazing._

* * *

Chapter Five - Glitch

The twins began to visit Turbo every day after that, staying the night whenever possible without drawing attention to themselves. At first he spoke frequently of his plans to get into the palace, of the order of the arcade races and the routines of the guards. But after a while, the twins began to itch to get on the track again, to do that which they had come to Sugar Rush to do, and reluctantly Turbo relented and allowed them (as if he could have stopped them) to race Chocolate Twist while he lurked on the sidelines and watched them. On days when he was feeling particularly daring, he and the twins would even venture to other nearby tracks, Turbo keeping low to the ground and hidden as best he could, watching them with interest as they whipped around the tracks, passing one another with yells and whoops of excitement.

The twins were fairly equally matched, they always had been, but Turbo could discern now, watching them, that Ned had become the more skilled racer. Perhaps even more skilled than Turbo himself, perish the thought. It had been a long time since he had raced the two of them, and he wondered if Ned would present a significantly more challenging opponent now. Ted was aggressive and competitive, he raced like Turbo in many respects, but Ned had a cool head and a pure love of the race. He wasn't all that competitive, but he felt the tracks and the karts and the physics of the race in a way Ted didn't. Turbo could tell, just watching, that Ned often held back to give his brother an advantage. Of course, every race was different, and many times Ted was ahead by his own daring aggression. But, still, Ned had improved quite a bit since Turbo had last raced them...He wondered how he would fare against him now.

He was terribly envious of their racing, but a part of him also felt quite happy for the twins. No longer threatened by them, he found that watching them filled him with a certain pleasure he hadn't felt in years. And it reminded him very much of Turbo Time, in the best way possible. Still, he longed to be out there on the track with them, to feel the adrenaline with them. He'd loved Sugar Rush, had loved racing as King Candy, but the competition with the racers here had never been quite the same as it had been with the twins.

With a screech of tires, Ted's car slid to a stop by the edge of the track and Ned pulled up shortly behind him. Turbo lifted his head with a wide yawn from where he lay curled up behind a giant jawbreaker. Ted climbed out of his kart, grinning. "Hey, you weren't watching!"

Turbo craned his neck and rested his chin on the jawbreaker. "I fell asleep."

"Hey now," Ted said, stepping over, "is our racing really that boring? Or are you just getting old?"

Turbo scowled. "You're just as old as I am."

Ted smirked. Ned tugged off his helmet and ruffled his messy hair with his hands, giving his head a shake before pulling the helmet back on. "You should race with us, Turbo!"

Turbo's scowl deepened. "Shut up."

"No, he's serious," Ted said. Turbo glanced up at him. "We've been thinking."

Turbo raised a scruffy brow at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Ralph rides on the back of Vanellope's kart," Ned said, adjusting his helmet.

Ted nodded. "And you can't possibly weigh more than that guy, can you?"

Turbo blinked at him, his mouth hanging a bit open. "Actually, I could," he muttered uncertainly. Admittedly, though, he had recognized a significant change in his size since his regeneration. He was quite a bit smaller now, though he still towered over the twins when he stood. He wondered how he would hold against the wrecker now. He cleared his head with a shake and looked back at Ted warily. "You want me to ride on the back of one of your karts?"

Both twins nodded together, smiles all around.

Turbo only stared back at them, astonished. "You seem to be completely missing the point that I'm trying to keep myself hidden here. Besides, I'll crush the thing."

Ned waved a hand dismissively. "Come on, we've never seen anybody out here the whole time we've been visiting you! And you can use your wings to take some of the weight off, right?"

"That's true," Ted continued, "most of the Sugar Rush racers prefer the tracks near the palace, and they don't really like us either, so, I doubt they're planning on coming out here."

Turbo frowned quietly. "They still don't like you..."

Ted shrugged, smiling, but Turbo couldn't help but feel there was a grain of sadness behind his eyes. "Well, Vanellope says they're coming around. Doesn't really show, though."

Turbo hesitated, then he nodded faintly, clearing his throat as he raised himself up. "Ah...whose kart then?"

"Mine," Ted said, his smile widening, the look of pain slipping away. He waved to Turbo and turned, heading back for the track. "My kart's a bit more front-heavy than Ned's. We think it'll balance out better."

Turbo hesitated, unable to help feeling awkward and exposed as he crept out onto the racetrack, but he had to admit he was itching to be in (or on) a kart, even if he wasn't the one driving. He hesitantly moved after Ted, still keeping his body low to the ground as he went. Ted jumped into his kart with the ease of someone who has done it all his life and glanced back at Turbo as he approached. The kart seemed terribly small now that he was so large, but he climbed gingerly onto the back of it and managed to fold his hindmost legs and fit the others in around the kart's sides, reaching forward to hold the edges of the seat with his claws and grip the back of it with his tiny forelegs. There was a faint sound of cracking and he immediately let his wings buzz to life, giving himself a bit of a lift. Ted turned in his seat to look up at him. "You okay then?"

Turbo glanced himself over, making a few pokes with each foot to really wedge himself into the kart's cookie body. "Y-yeah, I think so."

The roar of an engine almost startled him as Ned started his kart and, waving at them, took off down the track. Just as he did, Ted also started his engine and Turbo felt the familiar rumble of the car beneath him, although the sensation was different in his new body. Still, the thrill when the car pulled forward, when the wind hit his face and the smell of the candy fuel filled the air, was the same. He quickly curled his body inward, crouching as close to the car as he could, his head just above Ted's as they sped off after the other twin.

Turbo dug his claws into the candy car seat. Though the sensation was different, he could still, in his memory, recall the skin-tingling sensation of every nerve-ending responding to the thrill of the race. Ted was an expert, not quite the racer that Turbo had been, but an expert nonetheless. Even still, Turbo knew every inch of this track, so that even as he clung to Ted's car, his body thrilling with the adrenaline of it, he could recognize every move he'd make that Ted didn't, every slight deviation he'd have made from the way that Ted was racing. He could still beat him, he knew with pleasure. He could beat Ted, he could do it blindfolded. And if he ever got the chance, he would.

They came around a quick bend and Ned appeared ahead of them, just careening down a steep hill and out of sight. Turbo knew this bit. It was his favorite. A steep decline with a sudden arch at the end, a jump, sending the karts up and over a large pool of melted chocolate to a hill on the other side. Ted leaned forward in his seat as they crested the top of the hill and started down it, the pull of gravity playing on them with a rush.

But it wasn't right. Ted didn't know the angles, the way the ramp rose slightly more in one spot than the rest; he didn't know the perfect place to hit the jump to pick up those extra seconds of speed that would allow him to overtake his brother on the other side. He was doing it _wrong_!

Turbo felt a glitch ripple through him and without thinking he suddenly lunged forward, both clawed hands grabbing hold of the steering wheel in front of him. Ted jumped with a start, clutching tighter with his own hands as the wheel was suddenly ripped to the side. "What are you doing?!"

Turbo didn't answer, but he knew immediately that he had miscalculated. He couldn't control the kart, not from here, not like this. As he tried to steer over Ted's shoulder, he underestimated his own strength and the kart suddenly veered to one side. Ted hit the breaks desperately, but the kart was already flying sideways off the edge of the ramp. Ted scrambled to get clear of the kart as Turbo unhitched his claws, grabbing hold of the other racer and buzzing his wings in a desperate attempt to stop their fall.

Just as the kart dropped away from them though, another red static glitch rippled through Turbo, and suddenly he felt Ted drop from his grasp. There was a faint, fleeting moment of almost weightlessness, and he reached desperately at the air with grey-skinned hands. He just had enough time to look down at his white jumpsuit before he was swallowed up in liquid chocolate.

* * *

Turbo clambered out of the pool, spitting chocolate from his fanged mouth. He hauled his insectile body out of the liquid, shaking and rubbing at his face as his eyes darted around for his comrade. Ted was lying on his back just ahead of him, covered in chocolate and breathing in and out deeply while staring at the sky with wide eyes. Grumbling, Turbo scrubbed the last of the chocolate from his face and opened his clawed hands before him, flexing those long mauve fingers and considering if what he had seen a moment ago had been real or not.

"Turbo," Ted muttered.

Turbo looked up and stepped wearily over to Ted, where he collapsed gratefully on the ground beside him, his bug legs loosely splayed out around him. "What?"

"Did you...were you...y'know...'_you' _for a second back there?"

Turbo raised his brows, staring at Ted with uncertainty.

"Are you two okay?" Ned called down to them from above. Turbo turned and saw the other racer in his kart, pulled up to the edge of the hill to look down at them. Turbo waved a clawed hand and Ted offered his brother the 'ok' sign with his right hand before letting it flop back down next to him. Ned nodded and waved a circle with his hand, indicating he'd come around, before he drove out of sight. Turbo looked back at Ted quietly.

"You saw it too, then..."

Ted looked at him wearily and nodded. "It looked like you were glitching over, like always, except your whole body went this time...You were really Turbo for a second there."

Turbo considered this, then he stretched out his neck and lay his head down on the ground. After a moment, he muttered quietly, "Sorry. By the way."

Ted laughed a little, weakly, then he closed his eyes and waved a hand dismissively. "An apology from you? That's new...I kind of had a feeling something like that would happen though. I know I wouldn't have been able to help myself if I was you. Everything I was doing was probably driving you nuts, knowing you'd do it differently."

Turbo hummed softly. He wasn't used to anyone knowing him so well. It was a mildly refreshing feeling, although a bit troubling too, in its own way. More importantly though was the fact that he'd glitched to his old form, meaning that some semblance of that form still existed, somehow. It was a hopeful sign, though he had little idea what he could do about it. At least he knew his old avatar still existed in his code. They heard the sound of Ned's kart as he approached. He slowed a little ways off and stopped, running to meet them on foot.

Ted's kart, which had disappeared entirely into the chocolate pool, they counted lost. And once Turbo felt recovered enough, he reluctantly allowed Ted to climb onto his back, and followed the karted Ned back to his cave on foot. When they'd gotten back to the cave, Ted and Turbo told Ned about the glitch. He too agreed it was a good sign, and lamented that he had missed seeing it himself. All three feeling a bit shaken and all thoughtful, they settled in together, Turbo curled up near the cave's entrance and the two twins seated at his left side, leaning back on him gently.

After a long while of silence, Turbo spoke up rather softly, "I just realized, I never asked you...What exactly happened to the other two?"

The twins looked up. They exchanged a quick glance at one another before Ned looked down at his feet and Ted let out a soft sigh. He faced Turbo a little reluctantly. "They're gone. Both of them."

Turbo tilted his head to the side quietly, resting his cheek against his forearm as he gazed out at the landscape.

Ted reached up and scratched lightly under his helmet, then let his hand drop back into his lap. "Nitrus didn't last long. He was always kind of reckless, you know. And he hated you to begin with, so, you can imagine how he felt after...well, after. He already couldn't stand being compared to you as a racer, being compared to you as a character was too much for him. First chance he got to race again, he crashed himself into a wall. What game was that in? I don't even remember any more...We were never really sure if it was an accident or not.

"And Dash, ah...well, Dash 'went down with the ship,' so they say. He said he'd never leave his game. So, we said our goodbyes, and...he stayed behind."

Ned brushed his thumbs together in front of him, his eyes low. "I liked Dash..."

Turbo glanced back at the two of them thoughtfully, then returned his gaze to the landscape. He had always hated Nitrus. They'd never gotten along; unlike the twins who teased him out of good-natured fun, Nitrus had always come at him with real violent anger. His death wasn't much of a loss, Turbo thought, but at the same time, he had to feel a bit guilty for it...and Dash, well, he and Dash had never been close, but, he was a talented racer who didn't deserve what he got. The idiot, Turbo thought vaguely, refusing to leave his game. Why would he do that? He felt a hollow ache inside him. Regardless of his relationship with them, both Nitrus and Dash had been family, and it was strange to think of them as gone. As gone as Turbo Time was.

"Why...did you do it?" Ted asked gingerly.

Turbo continued looking away, his gaze growing slightly anxious. "Do what?"

"Leave," Ted said softly. "Game jump. And...not come back. I mean, we thought you were dead, but if you've been alive and hiding out all this time, then..."

Turbo shifted a little, clicking his claws on the floor of the cave. "Not now," he muttered. "I don't want to talk about it now."

Ted and Ned exchanged a quiet glance. They had no desire to antagonize Turbo any more than they already had. Ned bit his lip lightly and turned to look at him.

"Didn't it scare you?" Turbo lifted his head and looked back at the twins. Ned met his gaze evenly. "To race outside of Turbo Time. Here, I mean. With nobody knowing who you were, or that they could easily kill you without meaning to."

Turbo stared at him a moment, reluctant to admit personal weakness even to them. But he was glad to have left the subject of Turbo Time behind. He cleared his throat softly and lay his head back down. "It did, at first. Then I got used to it. It sort of made it more thrilling, in some ways. The danger, the risk and all. I had always hoped that with King Candy's code, I'd regenerate, but I never really knew for sure. I did everything I could not to find out." He lifted a clawed hand to his face and examined it dully. "Until this."

Ted turned to face him a little better and Ned did as well. Together, they asked in unison, "How did you do it?"

Turbo shifted a little. "Do what?"

"King Candy," they said again together, then Ted finished on his own, "Did you make him or...ah, well, did you make him?"

Turbo frowned. It seemed like ages ago that he had done that. Lifetimes ago. "I didn't," he admitted. "I found him. Not all of him, though. He was an unfinished character, a scrap of code that had never been activated. He didn't really exist, I mean, he didn't have an actual avatar in the game. But there was a code for him, a sort of...rough sketch. Bits and pieces of personality and looks and mannerisms. I just filled in the gaps. With my code." He hesitated, trying to breakdown the ideas that had become commonplace to his understanding. The twins were staring at him with wide curious eyes and he felt uncomfortable under their gaze. He cleared his throat softly. "You realize I had a lot of time, I mean years, to figure this out, so...Anyway. Any time you leave your own game, you bring a sort of...shadow code along with you. A copy of your code, your identity, that stays with you, that allows you to have presence outside your game. But the shadow code is just a shadow, it's disconnected from the game itself. It's you, your avatar and memories and personality, but it can't access the main code of your game when you're outside it. So, when you're relying on your shadow code for presence, you've got nothing to fall back on if something happens to you. It's the reason you don't heal or regenerate outside your game." Turbo hesitated, glancing at the two of them from the corner of his eye. "Following?"

The twins both glanced at one another, then back at Turbo, smiling a bit awkwardly. Turbo rolled his eyes and sighed. "You're the ones who asked."

"No, no, go on," Ted said eagerly. "We're trying, just go slowly."

Turbo frowned quietly, but he started again, "In any case, when Turbo Time was unplugged, our original codes all disappeared. Obviously. We were all left with just shadow codes, which aren't much use in any other game because they aren't connected to anything that still exists. _We_ still exist, we still have presence, but we're cut off. Well, _you_ are. It took me years to figure all this out, but I was trying desperately to find a way to tie my shadow code to a real game, to give it life again so that I could start over with a new avatar. Race again, be the best again...it was all I wanted." He cleared his throat quietly. "I figured out enough to access my shadow code in other games, and for a while I was lurking around in different racing games, trying to attach my code to characters that already existed, to overwrite them." He grimaced a little, uncomfortable to admit to the twins that he'd had the sense of mind to overwrite another character, but he doubted that they understood the true significance of that action anyway. "It didn't work. The character always realized something was up, or the original code would just reject me altogether, or...something would always go wrong.

"And then I got into Sugar Rush and found King Candy. Or what there was of him. After a lot of trial and error, I figured out how to sort of...weave my code in with his. Unlike the finished codes of other characters, it didn't reject me, and there was no actual active character to notice I was fiddling with their code. I filled in the gaps in his skeleton code with my own. That way, my character became tied to a real game, and King Candy's character got all the detail it needed to actually manifest in the game. Since the original code of the King was meant to be part of the game, the game recognized the character and didn't seem to notice or mind that a lot of the details of his code were foreign. I couldn't have asked for a better find. When all was said and done, I was wearing King Candy's avatar as my own..."

The twins were silent, thinking all of this over. Most of the information had gone over their heads, but they figured the details weren't terribly important. They understood the gist of what Turbo had told them.

"So all that time," Ted said, smiling faintly. "you were just stuck as King Candy? Stuck acting like that buffoon?"

Turbo glanced at him, surprised to find that he wasn't enraged at the comment. "Not acting, really. King Candy had a personality, it was programmed into him...When I 'put on' the disguise, the personality traits that were his came through mostly on their own. There were times I even forgot I had ever been Turbo. But, then there were times I did need to act...when the disguise wore thin. But, for the most part, it was...natural. Anyway, I suppose my code and his are still connected because I'm wearing his face, and his personality came through the other day...but I still feel like me, the old me, and I did glitch to my old avatar earlier, so, they're both in here," He touched his clawed hand to his chest, glancing down at it thoughtfully, "I suppose..."

The twins both hummed thoughtfully, then they tipped their helmets gently together with a click. "So, of the two of them," Ned began.

Ted finished, "Who is it you _want_ to be?"

Turbo lifted his head and looked at the two, blinking a little, then he lowered his gaze, truly considering the question. Who he had wanted to be had never been an option. Once he had become King Candy, he had given Turbo up. It was only after 'president glitch' had started him glitching that he even knew the original Turbo still existed. He frowned quietly to himself. King Candy had been fun, he had been more than fun. It was good to be known again as an expert racer, and not the little psychopath who had lost it on the track and abandoned his game. King Candy had helped him forget, had made racing fun again. When he was King Candy, he stopped thinking about Turbo Time.

But he had never had the twins as King Candy, he had never really been loved. He was always alone, and always wearing a mask, keeping anyone who might come to love him at an arms-length to keep them from figuring out who he really was...

"I want to be me," he said quietly. "I don't want to hide any more." The glitch flickered through Turbo's face, and two yellow eyes gazed at the twins sincerely before they flickered back to King Candy's brown irises. "I want to be Turbo."

The twins looked at one another, then back at the other racer, nodding in perfect unison. "Then we need to get you to the code vault," Ted said.

Turbo's expression sank, the hopelessness of that endeavor weighing down on him. "It's impossible," he murmured. "The more I think about it, the more impossible it seems. Even if we get to the palace, there's no way I could get in there without being seen. I know the guards, I know the routines—I couldn't do it. Even with your help, there'd be no way..."

"Turbo, you can't give up," Ned said gently.

Turbo lay his head down on his arms, sighing weakly. "I'll keep thinking..."

Ned lifted his eyes to look at his brother again. Ted was frowning quietly. Then he scooted in closer to Turbo and leaned on his side gently, reaching his hand out to lay it on the king's forehead. "We'll figure it out, Turbo. There's got to be some way. We'll get you in there."


	8. Chapter Seven - Wrecked

_Author Notes: I have certain regrets about the last chapter. BUT, I am going to move right along. All part of uploading a story as you're writing it._

_This is a short chapter, and one of the first that I wrote when I came up with this fic idea. I am uploading it a bit early because I have no self-control and want to share it with you, ha. In any case, next chapter will be up Saturday. And thanks always for reading and following and reviewing and so on!_

* * *

Chapter Seven - Wrecked

Ted and Ned were reluctant to leave Turbo, but they needed to make Ted a new kart and get back to the palace before it got too late. So they both bid their old friend goodbye and left him in fairly good spirits (for Turbo anyway) with the promise that they'd be back first chance they got the next day. With quite a bit of coaxing, they had managed to cheer Turbo up from his sour mood, by shifting his attention from the code vault to the glitch itself. They suggested that, since he had glitched to his old form by accident once, perhaps it was possible to do it again on command. He took the idea to heart and soon found that the possibilities were greatly encouraging.

Without the twins there to distract him from falling into obsession, Turbo spent the rest of that evening into the morning working on trying to figure out his glitch. Getting to the palace to get a look at the code vault seemed utterly impossible to him now, so he tried his best not to even think of it. After all, if he could work the glitch himself, he wouldn't need to get into the vault.

It was frustrating work, and hard, though. After all these years, Vanellope had only just learned to control her glitch, but he was determined to learn to control his in a matter of hours. He knew already that he glitched quite freely when he was angry, from the King Candy avatar into Turbo's, and he also knew he seemed to glitch inadvertently when touched by the twins. But what exactly did this mean? Vanellope's glitch had been related to her location, and it had given her the ability to teleport. His glitch was clearly related to his avatar, but was it also trainable? Could he learn to change avatar willfully? It would be a handy talent. Still, it would be a lot easier to manage, he thought, if he could get the cybug mess out of his system. No, he reminded himself with a grimace, he couldn't get to the vault. Couldn't work on the virus. There had to be a way to do this without having to alter his code.

The sound of the karts startled him from his thoughts. He brought himself up to a stand a bit eagerly, looking toward the gumdrop forest with anticipation. The day had passed quickly; he hardly even realized arcade hours had ended. After an entire night of struggling with controlling his glitch, managing little more than a forced ripple of red static in his neck, he had made one full-though brief-glitch of his face from King Candy's to Turbo's. It was only his face, and it had only lasted a few seconds, but it was unbearably encouraging and he was eager to share his breakthrough with the twins. He felt a bit giddy and though it embarrassed him, it felt good to actually be excited by one of his endeavors instead of frustrated by it.

Unable to contain himself, Turbo skittered down the hillside to meet them, weaving through the gumdrop trees with ease and grinning. This was it, finally he had hope for this plan! Hope that he could find a way to race again, to be _him _again. It had to be possible, it had to be. Still grinning to himself, he clambered over a gobstopper and scrambled out into the open.

There he froze. He had come eye-to-eye with Vanellope von Schweetz.

She stood, beside her kart at the edge of the road, staring at him with large unblinking eyes. Her face was a mix of astonishment, disbelief, and the smallest lacing of fear. He didn't know what to do. He was so taken off guard, he found that he had frozen in place. He had anticipated a lot of ways of being found out, but not this. Not giving himself away like this. Damn! What was he thinking?!

He took one slow, hesitant step backward just as she began to scream.

"Ralph! Get over here, Ral-!"

Without even considering what he was doing, he found he had the same reaction to her that he had had to Ned. He lunged forward on instinct, knocking the child to the ground and clamping his clawed hand tight over her mouth, his neck raised and weaving as he tried to look about to see if anyone had heard and was coming. He swung his gaze back down at her sharply, baring his teeth and hissing. "You're not ruining this for me again!" His face glitched to Turbo and back in a flash, but the red static of the glitch rippled through his whole body.

"Vanellope! What the-?"

Turbo raised his head again just in time to see Ralph come into sight. The first chance she got, Vanellope's body flickered a bright blue and vanished from beneath Turbo claws, reappearing a couple of feet away and staring at him in horror. He cursed loudly and now reacted the only way that made sense.

He turned and fled.

His wings flickered to life at his back as he scrambled for the forest. Unfortunately, Ralph recovered from his disbelief faster than Turbo had anticipated, and just as Turbo was leaping to take to the sky, he felt the wrecker throw his arms around one of his hind legs and drag him back down. Turbo turned toward Ralph with a hiss, kicking at him with the other three legs as he buzzed unstably above the track.

A brief, but significant thought ran its course through Turbo's head: How is this possible? Ralph wasn't this strong before—or am I weaker now? I tossed him around like a gumdrop! Dammit, I _am_ smaller now!

A few swift kicks to Ralph got him to release and this time Turbo was able to get enough altitude to be out of the wrecker's reach. He cleared the forest with ease and began buzzing swiftly across the landscape. There was no sense in hiding any more, at least not here, so without even bothering to head for the cave, he turned and headed the other direction. There was no readily available air transport in Sugar Rush, so no one should be able to touch him as long as he was airborne.

It was this thought, of course, which made it particularly surprising when he was suddenly struck by something whizzing through the air.

_Damn that wrecker!_

The blow to his head threw off his equilibrium, and a powerful glitch shuddered through him. He found he could no longer tell which way was up, and he buzzed crookedly with no sense of direction. His head reeled with a throbbing pain. Dear God, what had hit him? A jawbreaker?! He eventually became aware that he was falling, an awareness that was confirmed when he crashed painfully into the ground, and began scrambling about on his side trying to figure out how to get upright. He had barely staggered to his feet when Ralph tackled him back to the ground. He glitched again, his body shimmering with red light, as he tried to free himself from the wrecker's hold, but between the disorientation of the blow and the red haze of the glitch, he had lost his chance to escape. Feeling pathetic and frustrated and helpless, he simply gave up, collapsing loosely against the ground and trying to focus his strength on breathing deeply enough to clear his senses.

He heard things being shouted, from Ralph, Vanellope. Guards? Were there others? Dammit, why were they here...Where were the twins? Had Vanellope figured out they were helping him? Had they betrayed him? He should never have trusted them, how could he have been such a fool?! After all he'd done, why would they ever want to help him?!

_No, they're your brothers!_ he shouted at himself in his head. They wouldn't betray you...they couldn't...! Dammit, where are they?!

He started to thrash again and Ralph's weight pressed down on him. I'm so weak, dammit! Why I am I so goddamn weak?! He was vaguely aware that Ralph was not the only one now, that others were there, holding to him, binding him. He cursed and shouted and kicked until he could no more. Then something struck him, and with one last red flash of a glitch, his world suddenly went dark.


	9. Chapter Eight - Captive

_Author Notes: And now everything is a little bit different._

_I had a really fantastic past couple of days, but unfortunately I was very busy so I didn't get to do a full rewrite on this chapter. I did give it a final edit, enough to upload it, and hopefully it'll be alright as the plot continues to move. In any case, I promised it would be up today and since I left you with a cliffhanger, I wanted to keep my promise. Thanks always for reading!_

* * *

Chapter Seven - Captive

Turbo opened his eyes slowly. He couldn't move. Which was just as well, he figured, because he was exhausted and his forehead ached and he didn't feel much like moving anyway. His head seemed to be free enough that he could turn it a bit, though his body felt as though it had been taped, or tied, or chained with all his limbs pinned right against him. He breathed in shakily and glanced around himself. It wasn't the Fungeon. Thank programmers. It looked more like some unused space in the palace. A moderately-sized room, a sort of an off-white color with mint tiling on the floor. It was high-ceilinged, and there was a window—shuttered-but no furniture. He seemed to be alone. Not exactly top security, although how much security does one need when the prisoner is rendered entirely immobile?

Taking in a slow breath, he tried to recall the events that had occurred before he lost consciousness . He remembered seeing the glitch, seeing Vanellope, he remembered her screaming, and his panic at trying to escape, but it all seemed rather hazy. The wrecker was there...was that who caught him?

He tried to crane his neck to see around the room but realized he could barely move it. It seemed to be stilted against something solid, limiting his field of view considerably. Tilting his chin the most that he could, he could still barely see his body, and even as he tried to focus his mind on it bit-by-bit, he couldn't move it. A faint red glitch flickered in his neck and he lay his head back against the floor. What a waste, he thought vaguely, all that plotting and planning...it was all for nothing. He expected to feel angry, panicky, furious, violent, anything. But he felt only pathetic and tired and weak. What would happen to him now?

There was a creak and he tilted his head what little he could to glance toward the sound. He couldn't see the door, but he could hear footsteps. Three people entered. Two quite small—Sugar Rush citizens, Vanellope most likely, and someone else (a guard?)—and one quite large. The wrecker, of course. He'd never let Vanellope close to Turbo alone.

"You're awake."

Ah, yes, he was right. The glitch.

_The glitch._ Ha, he thought bitterly. Now I'm the glitch. The former king cybug glitch.

"How observant of you," he answered her coldly, realizing that he could rock himself ever so slightly with great effort. "You've always been such a clever little glitch." He managed to shift himself enough to rock over onto his back, twisting his head around to now see the little girl in her mint green hood, flanked by Ralph, and a white-faced guard who looked as though he'd rather be anywhere else in the arcade but here. Turbo smiled toothily at Vanellope, gazing at her upside down. She was frowning at him, but she didn't seem particularly scared. He could barely see Ralph's face, but he suspected it was taking the wrecker a great deal of effort not to run forward and smash into him with his fists.

Perhaps 'let's watch her die together' was a bit much, all things considered. Still. It sounded clever at the time. And he hadn't expected either of them to survive.

"We've been trying to figure out how exactly this is possible," Vanellope said. Turbo raised a furry brow at her. "How can you still be here?"

"It would appear the game has recognized me as one of its own," Turbo said. He realized that he could just barely flex his little front feet, and he was doing his best to wriggle one of them free of his bonds. "After all, King Candy's code _is_ tied to this game. And I'm tied to King Candy. What there is of him."

Vanellope stared at him, her dark eyes cold. "But you're_ not_ King Candy," she said. "He doesn't _really_ exist."

"Oh doesn't he?" Turbo mused, glancing aside from her with his eyes. "He exists in code, always has, since the day this game was plugged in. He's as much a member of Sugar Rush as you are, he just never was anything more than scrapped code until I came along. You see, the game _has_ to recognize him as part of this game. Otherwise I wouldn't be here." He glitched briefly over to Turbo and back, smiling toothily. "It seems I'm both characters now."

"And a cybug," Ralph muttered under his breath.

"And a cybug, yes," Turbo hissed, just managing to wriggle one of the legs free enough to scratch lightly outside the bindings.

There were three loud, bold steps and suddenly Ralph's hand clamped down on the free leg. Turbo looked up at him sharply, his eyes flickering yellow. Ralph glowered down at him and quickly re-bound the leg, leaving Turbo seething and feeling quite a bit less confidant than before. In a matter of seconds, the panic he had been repressing began to set in and he tilted his head to look back at Vanellope, his voice raised a bit now, his anxiety seeping through. "So what exactly is your plan now, glitch? Going to keep me tied up here forever? Speaking of which, where is 'here', if I may ask?"

"You're in the palace, that's all you need to know," Vanellope said evenly as Ralph stepped back up beside her. The young president turned at a sound in the hall. She glanced to the rather anxious-looking guard, who nodded to her uncomfortably and quickly stepped back toward the door.

Turbo raised his brows. With a little shifting, he managed to roll back onto his side, twisting his head just enough to see the door. The guard gave Vanellope another look and she nodded. Without a word, he pulled open the door and stepped back. From out in the hall, two blue-clad figures entered in a stumble, hesitating a moment before they rushed forward toward the cybug. Turbo blanched. What were they doing here? Why would they be here now? Unlike Vanellope and Ralph who had stood just outside his field of view, the twins rushed right over to him and dropped to a kneel beside him, smiling at him their usual jovial smiles in spite of the fact that he was bound and helpless, a prisoner, before them. He gaped at them, wide-eyed.

"Turbo, is it really you?" Ned asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yes..." he hissed uncertainly.

"Oh good," Ned said, his shoulders falling with relief. "We heard you fell." Ned dropped down and lay his arms around Turbo's body gratefully, prompting Turbo to shift his gaze to Ted.

Ted smiled softly himself, relieved. But he frowned a little at the bruise on Turbo's forehead, and reached over to touch it gingerly. Turbo flinched and his skin flickered grey. He could barely fathom what he was supposed to think about what they were doing or why they were there. If they had betrayed him, why were they happy to see him now? If they hadn't betrayed him, why were they compromising themselves?

Vanellope snapped him from his thoughts. "The twins told us they saw you out near Chocolate Twist a few days ago," she said. Turbo did what he could to look at her. She stepped a bit more into his view, toward the twins, and Ralph followed closely, protectively. Turbo kept his mouth shut, not certain what had been said and what hadn't. To his relief, Vanellope continued without prompting, "They said that they spotted you lurking about in the gumdrop forest and were afraid to tell anyone what they'd seen...but they recognized you from the stories people have been telling. So they thought they'd better report it."

"R-report it?" Turbo hissed, glancing back at Ted, his glare sharp. Ted smiled coolly. Turbo flushed as Ned squeezed tighter to his armored body, just enough that he could feel the pressure within.

"Sorry," Ted murmured, smiling warmly, "but...we're just so glad you're still alive."

Turbo was unimpressed. The twins were doing what he considered a poor job of reenacting their first emotional response to him in the gumdrop forest. No one, not even the glitch and her gorilla of a bodyguard were going to fall for this. Still...He breathed out an uncertain sigh and shifted his eyes back to Vanellope. "If you don't mind my asking," he muttered, his voice thick with sarcasm, "_again_, what exactly are you planning to do with me?"

Vanellope looked down at him and he grimaced deeply. The expression was out of place on her pixie-like features. Ugh, this child. He hated the idea of being at her mercy, of having to look _up_ at her, particularly now when he knew, had he been able to get on his feet, he'd have towered over her. "I'll get back to you," she said, looking toward the twins. "You two can stay with him a little while, alright? Goodbar will stay at the door as guard." Ned released Turbo and looked up at her urgently.

"Couldn't we be alone with him?" Ned asked quickly. "I mean, he's tied up and all...He can't do anything."

Ted gave Ned a light punch in the side where Vanellope couldn't see. "It's just...it's been years," he said lightly, giving Vanellope a bit of a pleading look "We have a lot of catching up to do."

She looked back at the two of them, her gaze resolute. Then she nodded firmly. "Goodbar will be right outside the door then, if you need anything." Ralph opened his mouth and began to speak but she shot him a quick look and he frowned and fell silent. Then she glanced at the guard by the door and nodded to him. Looking abundantly relieved, Goodbar scrambled out, and Ralph and Vanellope followed close behind. As the door clicked shut behind them, the twins looked quickly back at Turbo, smiling.

He sneered at them. "What the hell do you think you're doing?""

The twins glanced at one another, then looked back at Turbo, speaking in unison, "We got you into the palace."

Turbo blinked at them, his chest feeling tight. "You...what?"

"We got you into the palace," Ted said again, smiling.

"And we didn't even have to sneak past any guards," Ned added. "But we didn't mean for you to get hurt. Sorry about that bit..."

Turbo felt his heart start pounding, he glitched rapidly to Turbo's face and back as he began snarling, trying his best to stifle his yells for the sake of not summoning the guard, but it was difficult to keep his voice down. "What the hell were you thinking?!" he barked, struggling against his bonds to little avail. "You did this on purpose?! You humiliated me! I could have been killed by that insane wrecker!" A glitch rippled through him, then he suddenly perked, his eyes blinking open before they suddenly softened, his body relaxed.

Ned smiled. He had leaned over Turbo's body and snuck his hand to the notch just under the cybug's wing.

"You'd have regenerated," Ted said gently, his smile becoming a faint smirk. "And it never hurts to take your pride down a notch or two."

Turbo glanced at Ted and snarled quietly, but he seemed to be significantly subdued by Ned's touch. His eyes were flickering yellow although King Candy's face remained in place. "Damn you two...Why didn't you tell me what you were planning?""

"Because you'd have never gone through with it." Ted reached down with one hand and patted him lightly on the forehead. "You'll thank us later."

Turbo tried to tug away but was unable, growing more dejected and frustrated, particularly at the thought that the twins had been plotting ahead and not including him in their plans. "What the hell is tied up against my neck?" he muttered sleepily.

"A candy cane," Ted answered, reaching over and touching the licorice strings securing the cane to Turbo's own candy neck. He spoke in a low voice, "I could get these off."

Turbo grimaced and craned to turn his head, but he couldn't quite see the door. "You two are going to get yourselves in trouble," he muttered under his breath.

"Don't you worry about us," Ted commented. Turbo glanced at him quickly with his eyes, glitching over a second and back. "We can take care of ourselves, thanks."

"Just be careful," Turbo grumbled, shifting around what little he could.

The twins looked at one another with a smile, then both reached over and began to work on the licorice ropes binding his neck to the candy cane. Turbo faced away from the two of them, feeling infinitely helpless and all too frustrated and angered by it. Still, he admitted bleakly, he was abundantly glad to have the twins there. Had they never shown up in Sugar Rush, he'd have likely been found eventually by Vanellope anyway, and then he'd have no one there to help him. Although, he wished he wasn't in a situation to need help in the first place. It was a circular thought process that kept running through his mind.

He felt the last of the ropes snap off and he quickly lifted his head, craning his neck swiftly to look about himself. For the first time, he got a full view of the room, which he took in quickly, before looking down over himself to see the binding on the rest of his body: an amalgam of candy ropes, strings, chains, and tapes.

"No 'thank you'?" Ted asked.

Turbo grunted, bearing his fangs.

"You ought to be nicer to us," Ned said, "we're all you've got."

Turbo looked at Ned quickly from the corner of his eye, then turned away, looking toward the far window in the room, shuttered as it was. "Where exactly am I? And why not the Fungeon?"

"You can thank us for that too, if you ever get in the mood for thank yous," Ted said, raising his brows. "I 'accidentally' crashed my new kart into the side of the Fungeon this morning, so there's a big hole there. And we just happened to know that Felix had a date with Calhoun after hours today, so he wasn't able to come and fix it yet. You're in one of the unused rooms in the palace. West Wing, I think. I get my directions a bit confused in this game."

Turbo regarded Ted seriously. The two of them had thought this through surprisingly more than he expected from either of them. "You're drawing a lot of attention to yourselves," Turbo muttered. "They're going to get suspicious."

"They already are," Ned said. "They have been."

"But Vanellope's not the type to make a move based on suspicion," Ted said. "At least, she doesn't seem it. We think we've bought ourselves at least a few days to figure out a plan before Vanellope takes action against you. Which will likely either be putting you in the Fungeon, or just barring us from being with you. But, like I say, we ought to have a few days before either of those happens. So. Time to come up with a plan, King Turbo Bug."

Turbo perked, then scowled at him darkly. "As if it's that easy..."


	10. Chapter Nine - Warning

Author Notes: My sincere apologies because Turbo is actually not in this chapter...it's a short one with Ralph and Vanellope and a lil' bit of the twins.

If you didn't get the memo on Tumblr, I've started an askblog for Turbo and the twins that is based on the very beginning of the fic. It suggests that they just end up hiding out with Turbo indefinitely and none of these later events happen. I liked the interactions and I wanted to keep writing them as this plot progresses, so the Tumblr username is "ask-ktb-and-the-twins" and thanks to havesome-candy who let me know I can't post links in here, because I do not know these things.

I am very sick today and I can't judge this chapter very well. Next one has Turbs in it, I promise. Thanks, as always!

* * *

Chapter Nine - Warning

When Vanellope returned to check on Turbo and the twins, she found the three of them curled up asleep together against the far wall. It was a strange sight, the two boys looking so peaceful and content as they leaned back against their cybug companion. She noticed, immediately, of course, that they had cut the candy cane stilt from Turbo's neck. For a moment she thought to be angry, but the emotion faded quickly. It was just as well, she thought. To be perfectly honest, she didn't like that the guards had done that, even if it was necessary to assure he didn't bite his way free of the other bonds. It seemed cruel somehow, and it made her uncomfortable.

In spite of his legs pinned against him, Turbo had still managed to curl somewhat around the two boys snuggled up together at his side. The twins, for their part, seemed peaceful and content, each one holding to Turbo as though the cybug body was as commonplace as anything.

Vanellope left the room quietly, nodding to the guard at the door, now an older gentleman with a mustache and a mellow expression, and headed for her own chambers, her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, her eyes on the floor.

Her first reaction had been nothing short of shock. Even now, she was still trying to wrap her mind around the idea that King Ca—that Turbo, was really still around, and a cybug no less. Turbo didn't belong in Sugar Rush, wasn't a part of Sugar Rush, how could he have regenerated here? Sour Bill had done his best to convey to her what King Candy had done in the code vault, but the whole thing was so over her head, she'd given up trying to make sense of it. After all, it didn't really matter how he'd done it, all that mattered was that Turbo had made himself part of the game somehow. And that was a big problem.

She bit her lip lightly. She was angry, furious really. She hated him, for everything he'd done to her, and to Sugar Rush. But she didn't know what to do. After years of being at his mercy, he was suddenly at hers. The dynamic was unfamiliar and it didn't feel right. A part of her wanted him to suffer, wanted him to know all the pain he'd put her through, but a bigger part wanted to figure out how to make everything just go back to the way it was, with Sugar Rush finally becoming a safe and welcome place for her. She had thought the game was finally going to get a chance to be the way it was supposed to be, and now here he was, back again where he didn't belong...and the twins' involvement didn't help matters any.

She looked up suddenly when she realized she was at her bedchamber. Ralph stood at the door, waiting.

"You're making some dangerous decisions here, kid."

She looked up at him. He stood there with his large arms crossed over his even larger chest, his mouth turned down in a serious frown. "Scare the guards off, did ya?" She waved a hand at him as he pushed open the door himself and let her step past into her chambers, rolling her shoulders back and her eyes with them. "Presidents have to make dangerous decisions, okay?"

Ralph lowered his brows, letting the door close behind him as he thumped along after her. "He shouldn't be in the palace."

"Well there's no where else to put him right now. Ted crashed his car into the Fungeon wall earlier."

"Speaking of which," Ralph continued, his voice low, "You really shouldn't trust those two."

"Ralph!" she pouted, turning toward him as she sat on the edge of her cotton-candy bed.

"I'm serious, kid!" He stepped up to her and knelt down as he reached her bedside, looking her in the eyes. "Those two are the only other characters left from Turbo Time. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt as much as the next guy, but there's a lot of complicated stuff involved here."

Vanellope looked at him square in the eye, sighing with mild discouragement. "I know they're lying." Ralph raised his brows. Vanellope gestured anxiously. "When Ms. Calhoun found out I was inviting them to stay here, she gave me a couple of...um...'bugs', little microphone things, to put in their helmets. I didn't want to do it, I like them! But...well, she insisted. So, I did it anyway, I just never turned them on!" She sighed again and glanced aside, looking disappointed and a bit hurt. "Until today. After we brought Turbo in...Sour Bill was listening. He's heard everything they've said since they joined Turbo this afternoon. And the thing is...they definitely had been meeting with him before this, and the whole 'reporting Turbo to me' thing was the twins' plan to get him into the palace. They're after something, but we're still not sure it is..."

Ralph extended his hands emphatically. "I told you!"

Vanellope's eyes grew and she raised a finger quickly and reached forward to press it against his nose. "You have to keep this a secret, okay?"

Confusion crossed Ralph's face as he shook his head. "W-what?"

Vanellope sighed again and tilted her head to the side. "I'm not throwing them out, okay? And I'm not just gonna lock Turbo up and forget about him. Even when Felix does fix the Fungeon, which I kind of suspected the twins had destroyed on purpose anyway. The thing is, I'm really curious about what they're up to, okay?"

Ralph reached forward and clutched one of Vanellope's wildly gesturing hands in his first. She looked at him seriously as he spoke. "What he's up to is either getting back his power here or getting his revenge, and neither one is gonna end well for you, okay? You need to put a stop to this."

"Ralph," Vanellope said gently, "this is my game. And I know what I'm doing."

Ralph squeezed her hand gently before he released it, letting his fist thunk to the floor. "Vanellope..."

"They're all that's left, Ralph," she murmured. "You said it yourself. They're all that's left of their game. Turbo is all the twins have, and they're all he's got. For all these years, they've thought they were the only ones, and now they're finally back together. I'm not gonna take that away from them, not unless I'm _sure. _Don't get me wrong, Ralph, I'm mad." She glanced aside, squeezing her fisted hands against her knees. "And I'm hurt that they would lie to me. But...I like the twins, and I'd like to have them be a part of this game. I'm not convinced they'd actually do anything, you know, _bad_ to help him."

Ralph let his head tip to the side. "Kid..."

"Ralph," she said, looking back in his eyes. "I know what it's like, okay? I know what it's like to spend your whole life wanting to do nothing more than race, and not be allowed to. Racing's in their codes just as much as it's in mine. And just like me, the twins never did anything to deserve being banned from racing. And we've all got Turbo to blame for that, but, you know what I mean." She tilted her head a little to match Ralph's angle. "I just want to be sure before I do anything drastic, okay? I know how they feel...and if Turbo's using them or tricking them or forcing them into helping him or something, I just...don't want them to suffer any more because of him. They've been hurt enough."

Ralph knew there was nothing he could do or say that would convince Vanellope otherwise. Still, he was frustrated at the child's naivety dealing with a villain whose transformation he had witnessed first hand. He still had memories of Turbo, of a young angry racer with an obsessive streak, ranting and raving and stalking down that path that would someday lead him to what the arcade understood only as madness. If only Vanellope had some of those memories, maybe she would understand the risk, the danger. But she only had a King who had lied and cheated and lost his mind in the heat of the moment. She had no concept of the villain who had corrupted himself over years of hate and obsession.

"Just be careful, kid," he said gently. "And don't hesitate to call."

She smirked at him faintly, reaching forward again to poke him in the nose. "You know you're the first one I'd call, Stinkbrain."

* * *

Ralph stayed in Sugar Rush until morning, standing at Vanellope's door in place of her usual guards. When he finally had to leave, it was reluctantly and with a heartful of worry. He stepped out of Vanellope's chambers and moved quickly down the hall, heading straight for the front doors of the palace with his long, even strides. Then, just as he was crossing a main intersection of the hall, he noticed the twins heading his way from the outer wing where Turbo was being kept, one of them yawning and the other examining the hall's architecture with a curious eye. Ralph, for one, could never quite tell the two of them apart.

Ralph knew he should keep going, should ignore them and hurry on home to Fix It Felix, Jr., but he couldn't seem to control himself from barking out, "Hey! You two!"

The twins looked up in unison, blinking at Ralph with their bright yellow eyes. He had encountered the two before in Game Central Station (it would have been impossible not to after all these years), and infrequently in other games, but like most characters in the arcade, he for the most part steered clear of them in light of their association with Turbo. Even looking at them now, their grey skin and yellow eyes gave him the faint unnerving feeling he got when he thought of his final confrontation with the king-faced cybug as Sugar Rush was all but devoured around him.

Ralph stepped up to them heavily, shaking the palace with his monstrous steps. The twins didn't move back from him as he approached, but they did move closer in to one another, becoming a unit, even if they still paled in size next to the wrecker. "What do you want?" Ted muttered anxiously.

Ralph frowned down at the two of them. How anyone could ever tell them apart, he couldn't imagine. Looking down on them, he just saw two sets of yellow eyes set into dark shadows, identical in every respect except that one was faintly more defensive than the other. "Just delivering a warning, okay?" He clenched his giant fists, towering over them. "This isn't your game, alright? And it isn't Turbo's either. And just in case you ever forget that, I'm letting you know I've got my eye on the three of you."

Ted stared up at Ralph, his heart pounding. He grasped his brother's hand and squeezed it tightly. "What are you saying? We were_ invited_ to Sugar Rush, we're not here trying to take it over." Ted stepped slightly in front of his brother, puffing out his chest. "And you may hate us for actually caring about an old friend of ours, but-!"

"Old friend?" Ralph scoffed a little, shrugging his huge shoulders. "In case you forgot, that 'old friend' of yours got your game unplugged."

The twins were silent. Ted stared hard up at Ralph, his eyes cold. Ned lowered his gaze and glanced aside. Knowing he had overstepped the line, Ralph cleared his throat softly, and muttered an apology under his breath.

Ted took a breath and let it out hotly. "We haven't forgotten," he said, his anger reigned. "But Turbo was still a part of that game and that makes him a part of our family. No matter what he's done, he'll always be that. We're not just going to abandon him here."

Ralph was silent, keeping Ted's cold gaze, when Ned spoke up softly, his eyes still on the floor. "Felix came for you when he thought _you'd _gone Turbo, didn't he? Even if you really had, I'll bet he'd still have come for you..."

Ralph looked at the other twin and frowned quietly, then he sighed and the harshness faded from his eyes. He shifted his weight in discomfort and nodded in reluctant admittance. "You're probably right about that..."

"We're looking out for Turbo," Ted said, his voice firm. "Maybe if we'd've been there for him back then, we could have prevented a lot of things that happened in this arcade. But we weren't. We're not gonna make that same mistake again. Turbo is family, and we're looking out for him, no matter the cost."

Ralph regarded the two of them seriously, but his countenance had softened. He nodded solemnly. "I can't argue with that... But I've still got my eye on you, hear me? You might have an obligation to Turbo, but I've got one to that kid Vanellope. And if I think anything you're doing could hurt her in any way, you know I'm stepping in to stop it."

Ted and Ned nodded in perfect unison. "Understood."

Feeling a bit awkward now, and realizing he was running quite a bit late, Ralph excused himself from the two of them and rushed off, now at a heavy-stepped jog, out of the palace. The twins watched him go before relaxing slightly, still clutching hands in between them. After a moment, they glanced at one another and spoke softly, "We've gotta find the code vault." Ned nodded, and they hurried off into the palace.


	11. Chapter Ten - Nostalgia

_Author Notes: So, I really wanted a scene of Ned and Turbo alone together. When both of the twins are around, Ted inevitably takes the spotlight because he and Turbo connect in a very verbal way, and I really wanted to just see Ned and Turbo interact without him. Turbo just doesn't know what to do with Ned._

_Also, I was forced to get into the Turbo Time backstory a bit here...I'll be perfectly honest, I'm -not- thrilled with this fic's headcanon. But the thing is, it's so hard for me to pick a backstory and stick with it! There are so many fantastic ideas and theories about what happened when Turbo first game jumped. So, I'm sorry if you find this one to be weird (I do too) but this story's focus is on the present day, so, these particular details of the past are not hugely important. Turb's motivation will prove the important bit, but we haven't gotten there yet. _

_Editing may not be fantastic on this chapter. I am very sick right now. T_T But. Thanks for reading, as always!_

* * *

Chapter Ten - Nostalgia

Turbo woke up alone. He hated to admit it, but he had grown quite fond of the twins' presence over the past days. Waking up without them when they'd been there as he fell asleep left him feeling somewhat abandoned, although he wouldn't be eager to admit that to them. He considered it likely that the _president_ or one of her guards had forced them to leave at some point or other, seeing as he was a prisoner even if he was carelessly left in an empty room in the palace instead of locked up someplace secure. Ha. Even his neck was still free. She was an incompetent ruler, that glitch, just as he always suspected she would be. He'd have never been so careless.

He lifted his head and glanced around the empty room, then looked down at his body, still bound with licorice strings, bubblegum tape, and an assortment of other sticky looking things. With his neck free, he could easily eat right through the bonds and make a run for it, but Ted and Ned had put a lot of effort into this plan, and he was reluctant to ruin their scheme in pursuit of his own temporary freedom. He had to wait it out, remain a prisoner to stay close to his prize. The code vault was so close now.

Still, his body was stiff and rigid after spending the night cramped up on his side. He had to admit, he'd be more comfortable without the bonds...

* * *

When Vanellope returned to Turbo's chamber later that morning, she found a pile of half-eaten candy and a monstrous cybug perched by the open window, the peppermint bark shutters torn down and lying in pieces beside him as he sat staring out at the game beyond the palace. She stepped just inside the room, the ever-uncomfortable Goodbar and two of her pastry guards close behind.

"Aw, c'mon," she muttered, "you can't do this. You're a prisoner here, you know."

"Oh really?" Turbo muttered. "I hadn't realized." He shifted his weight, still looking out over what he could see of the road that led from the palace to the start of the Royal Raceway, where the citizens were gathered and racers were mingling, waiting for the roster race to begin.

She grimaced at him. It was taking a good deal of effort for her to keep up the casual rouse of the encounter, but she was determined to put Turbo at ease for fear of interfering with whatever he had planned. "Come on, get away from the window. If somebody sees you in here, it's gonna be more trouble for everyone, yourself included."

Turbo snorted with disinterest, but he lifted his body nevertheless and coiled round toward her, keeping low to the ground as he approached. Vanellope watched him closely, observing the ease and precision with which that cybug body moved, as though it were Turbo's own natural skin. To be honest, she _was_ intimidated by him in this form. Ralph had been brave, she thought, to fight him like this. Turbo crouched a good ten feet from her, flexing his claws and brushing them against one another with a bit of restless ticking. "Where are Ted and Ned?" he asked.

She raised her brows at him. "I haven't seen them. Maybe they went back to Game Central. They usual do at night...In the meantime, you can't be running around free like that."

Turbo sneered. "Want to try using something other than candy as a bond?" He gestured with a flourish toward the pile of licorice and bubblegum tape on the floor. "Otherwise I'll just eat my way out again." She glanced at the neck brace of a candy candy, which had been bitten in half to prevent its use again. With a grimace, she rolled her eyes back to him.

"Okay, well, would you prefer being locked up in the Fungeon?" she asked. "Because Felix is coming over here to repair it tonight, so if you'd be more comfortable there, it's no trouble at all moving you."

Turbo's expression was cold, but she detected a hint of anxiety in his eyes.

"Alright, look," she said, meeting his gaze stiffly, "you can stay free. But you've gotta stay in _here_, alright? I figure from the fact that you haven't tried to get out that you're smart enough to know it's not gonna do you any good trying to run. There are guards outside the window, outside the door, all around the palace. If you make a break for it, they're just gonna catch you again. And it's not like you can hide now that we know you're around. Oh, and just in case it's crossed your mind, there are plenty of guards stationed at the code vault too, got it?"

A red flicker dashed across the king's face as he scowled. Vanellope's gaze was hard. "Glitching, huh? I know what that's like." Turbo hissed quietly and glanced away just as a creak at the door caught his attention. The anxious-looking Goodbar stood holding the door open just a crack, peeking outside as Ned leaned forward to peer in from the hall. Vanellope turned as the guard cleared his throat, and she smiled at Ned as she spied him and waved him in. "There, Turbo, you've got one of your twins now, happy?"

Ned slipped into the room, smiling a little sheepishly at Vanellope before he looked to Turbo. "You got free."

Turbo grunted. Vanellope continued to look up at Ned. "Can you keep an eye on him for me? Just make sure he behaves? There will be guards outside, still, but...I've decided not to tie him back up."

Ned nodded loyally. "I'll stay with him."

"Thanks, ah..."

"It's Ned." He looked back at her with a gentle smile.

Vanellope smiled at the other racer in return, though something about it seemed a bit forced. Ned didn't seem to notice. "I want you and Ted to come meet me at the starting line of Royal Raceway when arcade hours end, okay? I want to talk to you two." Ned nodded again, obediently. Turbo only watched Vanellope with a suspicious frown. She met his eyes briefly before she looked back at Ned. "Have a nice day, though. If you need anything, the guards will help you out." She gave him a nod and turned to go, her guards following silently behind.

Ned waved to her as she exited before looking back at Turbo with a smile.

"Where's Ted?" Turbo grumbled, turning back toward the open window.

"Checking on something," Ned said, stepping over to him and glancing at the pile of half-eaten candy on the floor. "Was it good?"

"Hm?" Turbo glanced at him, then at the candy, before he scowled and lifted himself, skittering back over to the window. "I don't know. I've sort of lost my taste for it." He held up an arm, recognizing that the purple of his armor had shifted to a bit more of a pink after having chewed his way through some of that licorice. He sighed and lowered himself to a sit.

Ned stepped over to stand beside Turbo, looking down on the track below the window. After a few moments, Vanellope appeared in her kart, that mess of a kart she and the wrecker had constructed, speeding toward Royal Raceway with a couple of guards following behind. Turbo breathed out softly, the urge to race again firing up and quickly pattering out in his chest. Ned glanced at him and leaned slowly over on Turbo's side. The cybug shot him a look and shrugged him off, but Ned stubbornly leaned right back in place. Turbo sighed and relented. "What were you and Ted up to?"

"Looking for a way into the vault," Ned said softly. "There were a lot of guards though. I don't think you'll be able to get past them."

"That's what the glitch said," Turbo muttered.

Ned was quiet for a moment. "Ted's trying to see if there's any other way in."

Turbo scoffed a little, glancing at Ned from the corner of his eye. "You two are really pushing your luck. She's going to figure out you're helping me."

Ned sighed a little, still leaning his head against the cybug's side. "Well, it's still more fun than sitting around in Game Central Station all day...every day...oh!" He leaned away from Turbo and reached deep into his pockets. "I brought you something yesterday but I forgot about it."

Turbo lowered his neck and glanced back at Ned curiously, watching as the racer came up empty-handed and hurriedly unzipped his jumpsuit to check the inside pockets. "I can't believe I forgot it," he murmured, "I wanted to show it to you to make up for getting you caught...oh! Got it!" Ned withdrew a clenched hand. In spite of himself, Turbo found he couldn't quite contain his curiosity and he watched Ned closely, his claws clicking against one another as the racer held the fisted hand up with a smile. "Ted and I have a locker in Game Central Station. We've got a few old things stored up there. We thought you might like to have one of them." He opened the hand slowly, and in his palm was a small screw, painted white on the head. Turbo blinked at it uncertainly, then looked to Ned for an answer. Ned smiled gently. "It's from your old car. From Turbo Time."

Turbo's eyes blinked in astonishment. He looked from Ned back to the little screw quickly. Then he lifted himself up on his insect legs and turned to face Ned fully, settling back down and reaching forward with his hand to take the screw carefully in his claws. "This is...from my car?"

"Well, one of them. I mean, not the one you took to Road Blasters, obviously, but...It was a spare. A leftover. A little bit of data that survived a crash, you know." Ned rocked on his heels gently, his cheeks rather warm as he watched Turbo examining the artifact. "We've got a few others, from our cars. Ted's got a little broken piece of mirror off his. Before we evacuated, we just...grabbed some little things to take with us. The Surge Protectors wouldn't let us have much else." Ned smiled a bit sadly, nostalgically.

Turbo held the little screw up between his thumb and forefinger, staring at it still in mild disbelief. "Dammit, Ned, I-" Turbo started as a glitch ran through his hand, his claws giving way to grey skin. He dropped the screw and scrambled to catch it as his hand flickered back to its cybug claws. The screw hit the armored palm with a clink. Turbo blinked down at it.

Ned leaned in toward him quickly, smiling. "That's a good sign, right?"

Turbo stared at the hand still a moment, then glanced to Ned, his teeth clenched. He nodded briefly. It was hope, another sign of hope. His avatar was still holding together, hidden somewhere beneath all the cybug code. There was definitely a chance he could get it back. Glitching over was too much a struggle, far too unpredictable. But he was so close to the vault now, if he could just get to the vault, get to his code-

He was pushed from his thoughts as Ned suddenly threw his arms around him. Turbo perked, jumping up on his legs and scrambling away. "Ned!" he hissed, but the racer allowed himself to be plucked right up off the floor, still holding tight round Turbo's insectile chest, grinning.

"I can't wait for you to be Turbo again," he said excitedly, "you're more fun to hug when you're little!"

Turbo perked and grimaced, clawing at the twin with his tiny forelegs. "Okay, so I'm not fun to hug now, right?! Get off!"

Ned clung stubbornly to him as Turbo tried to shake him off, skittering around the room on his insectile legs and hissing anxiously. He only stopped when he heard the door click open and Goodbar reluctantly opened the door for Ted to step inside. Ted was grinning eagerly as he entered, but as the door closed behind him he paused and raised a brow at the two of them. "...what are you doing?"

"I love him," Ned said.

"Get the hell off!" Turbo barked, finally managing to pry Ned off him so that the racer dropped to his feet with a smile. Ted smirked faintly as he came to join his brother, looking up at Turbo who was clearly embarrassed as he scuttled away from the both of them, his body low to the floor. "You're like a couple of monsters," he hissed, still clutching the little screw in his claws.

"We try to be," Ted said proudly. "I honestly don't know how you're ever gonna get inside that vault. There's a whole hoard of guards over there."

Turbo settled down by the window again, facing away from them. He glanced down at the screw in his hand one more time before tucking it into his cuff. "I expected no less. Getting me into the palace doesn't do a whole lot of good if I still can't get to the vault..."

Ned stepped back over to Turbo's side, hunkering down beside him. Turbo glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "We could fight the guards," Ned whispered.

"That's not gonna work, Neddy," Ted said, stepping up behind his brother and putting his hands on his shoulders, leaning over him. "But maybe we could distract them somehow, get them to leave the vault for a while so you could get in there."

"The guard here is more-or-less incompetent," Turbo mused. "Why wouldn't they be? It's not exactly like they had any threats in Sugar Rush before...me."

Ned tilted his head to look up at his brother. "Then we should create a diversion."

"Crash a kart into another part of the palace," Ted murmured.

Turbo turned to look at them with a flash of a glitch that revealed his yellow eyes. "You two need to knock it off! You're gonna get yourselves caught or hurt or worse!"

Ted paused before sticking his tongue out at him. Turbo sneered toothily. "Well I'm sure we could come up with something."

Ned smiled a bit eagerly. "And once you get into the vault, you'll be Turbo again and we can race you!"

Turbo glanced at Ned, frowning. "I don't really know if there's anything I _can_ do to fix this...The cybug virus might have eaten away a lot of the code, there may not be a lot left for me to work with. So all of this might be for nothing. In which case, I'm not sure what will happen to...me, or you." Ted and Ned both fell silent, watching Turbo quietly. Turbo glanced away, his eyes shifting. "But I am still glitching over, which means my avatar still exists, somehow...It's still worth a try. But leave the plotting to _me_ now." He glanced at them sharply. "Got it?"

"There's the spirit," Ted said gently. Ned smiled.

* * *

Since they still hadn't gotten a chance to build Ted a new kart since wrecking his last one into the Fungeon wall (and of course the one before that which had been lost to the chocolate pool), the twins squished together side-by-side into Ned's kart to head for the Royal Raceway starter line. They paused a moment on the track at the front of the palace, looking up at the window where Turbo now was crouched, his head just peeking up enough to watch them as they headed off. He had been repeatedly insistent that they be careful talking to Vanellope from this point on. He was convinced that she would manipulate them into revealing something, behavior they assured him was much more suited to his own mind than to the little rosy-cheeked racer, but nevertheless they listened to his advice and promised to be wary of what they said to her.

Vanellope was just tugging off her helmet at the close of the final race when Ted and Ned pulled up to the sidelines. She gave them a wave and glanced around at the other racers, most of whom were still waving to the crowds and paying no attention to the two relatively unwanted twins. Vanellope dropped her helmet onto the seat beside her and hit the gas once more, pulling around and over to them. "Hey you guys! Nice timing."

Ned smiled, glancing at Ted as his brother leaned over the side of the car to grin at Vanellope. "Nice race! First place as usual, huh glitch?"

Vanellope smirked at him a bit awkwardly. In the time since Sugar Rush's reset, that old insult had become a compliment, but it was still a bit strange to hear coming from the twins. Although she generally didn't take issue with it, there were infrequent times when the twins' grey complexions and yellow eyes brought back memories she'd rather just forget. She shook the thought away as she brushed a hand through her bangs. "Oh come on, I don't _always_ come in first," she admitted, grinning, "although, I do when I race you two."

Ned perked. He and Ted exchanged a quick glance before looking back at Vanellope. "I think that's a challenge," Ted said slowly.

Vanellope smiled back at him competitively. "Sure it is," she said, "but we gotta talk first. Just a few minutes of your time, okay? Follow me over to Chocolate Twist. I got something to ask you about."

* * *

"So, what's it like, having Turbo back?"

Vanellope and the twins had pulled over near the gumdrop forest where Turbo had been captured. Though they tried quite hard not to show it, both of the twins were intensely uncomfortable and Ned, for one, was avoiding Vanellope's eyes altogether now. Ted knew that as always he was going to be the one doing the talking, and lying, but he was in no eager mood for it. He swallowed before he began, keeping his voice steady. "Ah, it's nice! I mean, it's strange." Ned glanced at his brother as Ted fumbled with his words. He smiled awkwardly. "I don't know, it's a lot of things. Surprising, more than anything. All this time, we thought he was dead."

Ned swallowed and continued to gaze down the length of the track as it wound around the edge of the chocolate hills ahead.

Vanellope turned sideways in her kart to look at the both of them, tugging her feet up on the seat and hugging her knees against her. "What did you think happened to him?"

Ted took a light breath. The lying was difficult enough without mixing it with truths he wasn't eager to talk about. "Well, back when Turbo first game jumped, when we went out of order, Rex told everyone he'd run Turbo off the road in Road Blasters. He was sure he'd killed him. Everyone thought so."

Vanellope tilted her head. "Who's Rex?"

Ted blinked, then nodded slowly. "Right, you've never been outside Sugar Rush...Rex was the self-imposed leader of the Road Blasters characters. Well, he still would be, if any of them were still around."

Vanellope lowered her eyes thoughtfully, considering this. "What happened to them?"

Ted bit his lip lightly. "They, uh, they didn't leave. When the game was unplugged, I mean." He shifted his shoulders a little with discomfort. "They were sort of...hollow characters. Not really characters at all, just...pixels and basic coding. I don't think they understood what was happening. Rex was the only one who was different, who had life in him. Don't really know why..."

Vanellope gazed at Ted. The world outside Sugar Rush was growing increasingly strange to her. "I don't think I really understand what happened back then..."

Ted laughed a bit awkwardly, scratching at the back of his neck with a trembling hand. "Neither do we, to be honest. Most of what people talk about is just...you know, conjecture. Theories. Turbo disappeared, so...no one ever really knew the details of what he did or...why. Rex probably knows best, I mean next to Turbo himself, but, I don't really trust anything that comes out of his mouth, to be honest." He glanced down as Ned gave his hand a squeeze. "What Rex said made everyone think Turbo was such a monster, but..." He lifted his eyes, catching Vanellope's gaze. She was staring at him solemnly, her deep brown eyes serious and thoughtful. Ted cleared his throat quietly.

"Rex ran Turbo off the road when his game went out of order," he said, "I mean, everyone wanted to blame Turbo for the whole ordeal, but, if not for Rex, Turbo might have gotten back to Turbo Time before we got unplugged. I mean, it was still wrong of him to game jump, to screw up Road Blasters. But it could have stopped there! If he'd been able to, he could have come back to Turbo Time and even if Road Blasters got unplugged, he might have saved our game and...!" Ted trailed off, frowning. He glanced down at Ned, who was staring up at him with large eyes. A slow realization sunk into his head and he lowered his eyes as the thoughts filled in the spaces in his mind. "I'm sorry," he murmured, "I've told myself this story all these years, but I always...assumed that Turbo was dead. And he wasn't. Turbo wasn't really dead. So, all this time, he _could_ have come back. But he chose not to..."

Ned squeezed his brother's hand again. Vanellope regarded the both of them with a quiet stare. Ted looked up at her, a bit disoriented as his thoughts cleared. He smiled awkwardly, but his eyes seemed damp. "S-sorry, it's...ah...I hadn't thought it through that far until...now." He glanced down as Ned brushed his fingers on Ted's hand, then he looked back at Vanellope. For a moment, he felt like spilling everything. Giving up the lies and telling Vanellope the truth about helping Turbo, about sneaking off to see him when he'd said they were racing. She had been so kind to them, so welcoming to them. Maybe she would understand, would want to help somehow.

"Turbo is a bad guy," Vanellope said softly. Both twins looked up at her quickly, their yellow eyes flashing. "He left you. And even when he had the chance to come back, he didn't. He came here. He came here and he screwed around with this game and all the people in it." She looked at them, her eyes cold. "He tried to _kill_ me."

Ted and Ned glanced at one another. Their discomfort was evident.

"Turbo wasn't always like that," Ted said weakly.

Vanellope stared at them. She was silent for a moment, then she glanced away and out over the racetrack spreading out ahead of them. "Listen," she said softly. "I want to keep racing with you two, alright? I still want you to join this game at some point. I mean, if you want to. I just need time to work through this Turbo thing. You do too, from the sound of it. But, racing clears my head, so...if you're up for it, I could go for a quick race now. It's up to you two. Or, Ned, I guess. You're the one that's driving, right? I have a hard time telling you apart sometimes." She looked back at them, smiling faintly, although it was clear she was still troubled.

Ted and Ned exchanged a quick glance before looking back at her, nodding in unison. Ned gave his brother's hand a tight squeeze before he returned his fingers to the wheel.


	12. Chapter Eleven - Outbursts

_Author Notes: Someone mentioned in a comment that it would make sense for them to ask Vanellope for help because Turbo would seem less of a threat in his normal avatar than in the cybug form—this is true, I actually address this at some point, but for the time being, keep in mind that Turbs is still glitching and part of his goal is not only to get his avatar back but to fix his glitch also. And a loose Turbo is more of an issue than a trapped cybug. Also, who wants Turbo messing about with code again?_

_Anyway, this is another chapter almost entirely new from the original draft. __Can people be perfectly honest with me here? Has my writing still seemed strong throughout or has it started to waver? I'm struggling through this section and I'm curious if it shows. I'm trying hard to keep going strong! This chapter is -really- long compared to the others and I apologize for that. I kept having to add to it and it just kept growing, ha. Anyway. People have said some really kind things to me about this story this week and I just want you all to know how very much I appreciate your comments and just the fact that you're reading, even if you don't comment. I'm glad I'm putting something out there that people can enjoy. :)_

* * *

Chapter 11 - Outbursts

That night, Vanellope allowed the twins to camp out in Turbo's makeshift room. She even offered them blankets and pillows, which the palace guards had piled into the chamber, and the twins had set up into a a fort which Turbo promptly knocked down when they tried to wall him inside it. At Ted's suggestion, the twins had agreed between themselves not to discuss what had come up in their talk with Vanellope, so they dodged Turbo's questions about it and tried their best just to keep him happy.

For the next two days, when arcade hours ended, Vanellope invited the twins to the track as she had been doing and they joined her eagerly, leaving Turbo with an unbearable amount of time spent alone in the palace, locked up and plotting. He was aware that Ralph and Felix had come to Sugar Rush the day after his capture, but he had burrowed himself into the fort of pillows and pretended to be asleep when the glitch brought them by to check on him. He had no mind to deal with with the wrecker ever again, and he was in no mood to have Felix trying to reach out to him with some half-assed speech about friendship and the good old days. He half-expected Vanellope to return later that night with her hoard of guards to move him to the Fungeon, but she never came. When they were finished racing, Ted and Ned returned, and no one mentioned it.

Whenever they were able, the twins continued to check on the vault, and confirmed that the guard was always heavy. But they assured Turbo that his fears about their being found out were unnecessary; Vanellope was treating them with the same friendliness as always and didn't seem suspicious of them at all. And although there were vague rumors of a cybug floating around among the Sugar Rush citizens, no one seemed to know that Turbo himself was hauled up in the palace, hiding away.

"You wrecked our fort _again_," Ted muttered as he stepped into the room.

Turbo had bunched all of the pillows together into a heaping pile, on top of which he lay curled up and gazing at them lazily as they entered from the hall. "You leave me in here all day with a bunch of ridiculously stacked up pillows and you really think I'm _not_ going to destroy it. You're funny."

Ned stepped up to the pile of pillows with the cybug on top and walked around it quietly. "You made yourself a nest..." He touched Turbo's tail with his fingers as he passed round the cybug's back. Turbo flicked it lightly out of his hand.

"Shut up, Ned," he muttered.

"You are just _so _fun to come back to at the end of the day," Ted remarked, clasping his hands behind his back and stepping over as well. "Always in such a good mood." He grinned.

Turbo stuck out a striped tongue at him and plopped his chin down on the pillows.

Chuckling, Ned leaned forward and tipped his head on its side. "Grumpy, ain't you?" He reached out a hand and brushed the scuff of grey hair at the side of Turbo's head. Turbo hissed and tilted his head away, but he didn't move otherwise. Ted smirked. "We had a pretty good day, to be honest. Couple of the Sugar Rush racers raced with us and Vanellope and they actually played fair."

"It was fun," Ned said, sitting down on the pillows near Turbo's back, fiddling with his tail still. "Wish you could join."

Turbo scoffed. "Even if I get my avatar back,_ that _is never going to happen. I'd settle just for racing with the two of you...No change in the guards at the vault?"

Ted shrugged faintly and shook his head. "You're gonna have to let us do something to distract them. It doesn't have to be obvious. But it should be soon."

Turbo glanced at Ned with a grim expression. He was still anxious about getting the twins into trouble, but his options were certainly dwindling. "I've had a few ideas, but..." Ted laid his hand against Turbo's forehead and Turbo glanced up at him with a sigh. Then he perked at a slight tug from behind and turned quickly to look at Ned. "Ned, what the hell? Cut it out!"

Ned jumped, looking up at Turbo with a sheepish grin. He had braided the two strands of Turbo's tail together and was holding the braid across his palms. Ted stared at this for a moment before sputtering out a laugh as Turbo's eyes flashed. Desperate to fix the situation, Turbo flicked his tail out of Ned's hands, but the braid held together. "Well thanks a lot, Ned!"

Ned smiled widely and snatched the tail out of the air. With a flicker of a glitch, Turbo glared sharply back at Ted, who was stifling the last of his snickers and smiling at him coolly. "Aw, are we annoying you?"

Turbo reached up a clawed hand to Ted's face and pushed him away. Ted stumbled and fell back with a laugh. "Don't you think there's something weird about all this?" Turbo snapped. "The way the glitch has been acting, the way I'm allowed to be here in this room instead of locked up in the Fungeon? The way you two can be here with me all the time?"

Ted brushed the tears from his eye with his forefinger, pulling his legs up to cross in his lap. He shrugged, smiling. "Vanellope seems like a pretty nice person, I'd think she'd have some hesitations about locking you up, even after what you did..."

Turbo frowned. That much had already occurred to him, but it didn't seem like enough. He was deeply bothered with how open-ended his life had become. It was as though he was in a sort of limbo, not free, nor quite a prisoner. Being treated with more respect than he deserved, and less punishment. He kept waiting for the ax to fall but it never came and he didn't know what to expect in its stead.

Ted, however, seemed quite a bit less concerned. He laughed it off and rocked himself forward, pushing himself up to his feet and looping around Turbo to help Ned unbraid the cybug's tail.

The three settled in the rest of that evening, surprised that they weren't disturbed by any visits from Vanellope or any of the guards. Bored as Turbo got lounging around in the mountain of pillows, the twins had had dozens of games that they played with the fluidity that only twins have, and a particular talent that only twins who have been ostracized and left almost entirely to their own devices develop. They invited Turbo to join them but he was content enough to watch as they ran the gamut of every card game in their repertoire.

It _was_ strange, Turbo thought as the evening wore on, everything was strange. The way Vanellope had refused to tie him back up, the way he was still in the palace although Felix had undoubtedly repaired the Fungeon wall by now. The way the twins were allowed to stay with him, as long as they wanted. It was all very strange...And the more he thought about it, the more he wondered, how long could things go on like this? Surely it wasn't the glitch's plan to just let him loaf around in this room indefinitely? Or maybe it was, he thought tiredly. After all, what _could _she do with him? What he deserved was to have his code ripped out the way he'd ripped out hers, but she was a child, and a naive one at that. She didn't have it in her, he thought wearily. After all he'd done to her, the brat just didn't have it in her to give him what he deserved...

Or maybe he was wrong, he considered with a yawn. Maybe she was planning something out...or waiting for something...Waiting for the twins...to slip up?...

* * *

"Hey, Turbo...hey, wake up...come on, Turbs..."

Turbo opened his eyes with a start, gasping for breath as he was tugged out of the dream that had hold of him. Ted was there just in front of him, his face close, staring at him with concern in his yellow eyes. Still gasping breaths, Turbo scrambled away, shoving pillows out from under him and throwing his gaze around in a bit of a panic, his eyes wide and damp with tears he didn't realize he'd been crying. A few stray glitches ran the length of his body, red static flickering out at the ends. Ted reached out to him with anxious hands, his own voice shaky. "H-hey, it's okay, calm down, you were dreaming."

Turbo floundered momentarily before he stopped suddenly, his body twisted round, armor rising and falling with shallow breaths. After casting his eyes around a bit and realizing Ned wasn't in the room, he looked back at Ted suddenly, almost choking on a sob.

Ted managed a weak smile, although it was a struggle to hold. "Ned went to get somebody, it's okay...Are you alright? You were glitching really badly."

Turbo held his gaze for a moment before he lowered his wide eyes, his face red. "Y-yes, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be fine? Of course I'm fine."

Ted raised his brows as his smile slipped away. Turbo's voice had shifted, the tone raised slightly, the lisp just a bit more pronounced. Biting the inside of his lip, Ted leaned down closer to him and spoke softly. "...King Candy?"

Turbo groaned quietly, trying to rub the tears from his eyes with his claws, though it was like trying to dry his face with with blunt knives. Ted hesitated before he reached across to him, pulling Turbo's claws away from his face and gently rubbing at the tears with his own fingers. Turbo looked at him a bit desperately. Smirking, Ted tipped his head on one side. "Guess Turbo wouldn't want to be caught crying like this, huh? You're okay, calm down...It was just a dream."

Turbo sniffled as he closed an eye, letting Ted rub the tears away from under it. "Did I wake you and Ned up...?"

"Yeah," Ted said, rubbing his knuckle on Turbo's damp cheek. "But it's okay, don't worry about it." Turbo lowered his eyes again, still sniffling. A moment passed before Ted spoke again, softly, trying to keep his voice quiet. "What were you dreaming about...?"

Turbo was silent, gazing across the floor of the room with a weary expression. Ted could tell he was highly uncomfortable, although Turbo's usual embarrassment seemed to be absent so long as King Candy's personality was dominant. He suspected there was probably very little King Candy would be embarrassed about.

"N-nothing," Turbo finally said, biting his lip and flinching as his fangs pricked him, "i-it was nothing at all."

Ted sighed. "So 'nothing' was the reason you were thrashing around and glitching so badly?"

Turbo swallowed, his face red. He glanced at Ted briefly and away again, lowering his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about..."

Ted stared down at him, breathing out quietly. After a moment, he leaned down and rested the front of his helmet against Turbo's forehead. The king's brown eyes flickered up to him quickly. Turbo hesitated only a moment before he suddenly raised a hand and clamped it around the helmet, hooking his claws under the back. Ted perked but he barely had a chance to move before Turbo tugged the helmet off him in one fluid motion and flung it across the room. "Turbo...!"

Turbo gazed up at him with large eyes as he let his hand drop back to the floor beside him. Ted paused before he smiled faintly, actually letting out a little amused laugh as he shook his head. "You could have just asked me to take my helmet off, geez." He ruffled the curly cropped strands of his dark hair before he took a breath and leaned in again, this time touching his forehead lightly to Turbo's. Turbo let out a breath of a sigh and relaxed a little. They stayed like this a while, silent, just breathing. Ted finally felt his heartbeat slowing down as concern over Turbo began to subside, then with a sudden leap, it started up again as he felt Turbo shiver with another sob.

"What's going to happen to me...?"

Ted leaned back from him a little. "Turbs..."

Turbo closed his eyes tightly, choking back his tears. "I was the king of this game, my subjects loved me! Now I'm...what am I?! If they knew I was still alive they'd want to destroy me...! It's all gone, I can never get it back, thanks to that stupid glitch and that wrecker, I lost this whole game!"

Ted frowned seriously, drawing his shoulders up. "Turbo, this isn't your game, it never was."

"No, but it's his!" Turbo's eyes flickered to Ted. "It's King Candy's, he belongs here, and he's part of me! It was his- no my, _my_ game, it was supposed to be!"

Ted grimaced faintly. "King Candy wasn't supposed to exist, Turbo, you told us that yourself. His code was abandoned before it was finished, this game was _never_ his. Never yours."

Turbo let out a sound like an anxious whimper. "What's going to happen to me, Ted? I-I've been hiding for so long, what now...?"

Ted gazed at Turbo quietly. He leaned back from the cybug, staring down at him, shifting his legs under him. Turbo tilted his head to look up at the twin, his brown eyes surprisingly sincere. And quite a bit shaken.

"Turbo," Ted said gently, "I need to ask you something...I know you don't want to talk about it, but I need to know..."

Turbo grimaced immediately, tugging away from him gently and shifting around, rolling onto his back and pulling his legs in toward his belly. He stared up at the ceiling, his brown eyes dancing as he bit at his lip again. He knew what was coming.

Ted placed his hands on his knees, staring at his old friend. "...why didn't you come back?"

Turbo glanced at him from the corner of his eye, then away again quickly, showing those distinct traits of awkwardness which suited King Candy much more than Turbo himself. "A-after-?"

"After Road Blasters," Ted finished for him, leaning forward. "I have to know, Turbo. Or King Candy, or whoever. You both know the answer and to be honest I think KayCee is probably more likely to admit it than Turbo, so maybe this is the best time to ask."

Turbo almost whimpered under his breath as he glanced at Ted again timidly. "We're the same person, don't tease..."

"Just tell me," Ted said, his voice a bit pleading, "please. All these years, we thought you were dead, we thought you didn't have a choice, but you did. You _chose_ not to come back. You let us get unplugged...I have to know why. I'm not asking you to talk about the game jumping, I'm not asking why you left, I'll let you have all the time you want to explain that to us...all I want to know is why you didn't come _back_."

Turbo gazed at Ted wearily. His eyes were wet and red again and Ted reached over carefully to rub them for him. Turbo sniffled, closing his eyes and tilting his chin toward the ceiling. "I...was scared." Ted withdrew his hand quietly, listening. "I was terrified," Turbo murmured, "I-I don't know what happened, I knew right away what an idiot I was, that a stupid pointless thing I'd done, that I'd ruined everything, a-and I was afraid, I just...I-I...I didn't want _this_ to happen! What will they do to me?" He tilted his head and opened his eyes, gazing at Ted weakly. "I don't want to be locked up...I don't want to be shut away, I want to race again, I want to race with you and Ned again, they'll take that away from me..."

"Turbs," Ted murmured, reaching out and touching Turbo's forehead, "Vanellope won't do that to you. And nobody would have done that to you back them..."

"Nitrus would have killed me!" he choked. "You know he would have! He'd have gotten the game unplugged himself just to do it!"

"You were afraid of Nitrus...? That's why you hid?"

"It wasn't just him, it was everyone! You know how they are, how they felt about me!" He shut his eyes again suddenly, flexing his claws in toward his palms, trying to withdraw himself inward as much as he could, but he felt the size and the awkwardness of the cybug body more than ever and he just couldn't shrink himself away. "They already thought I was crazy, everyone was afraid of me, they hated me...!"

Ted hesitated, then he let out a breath, shaking his head faintly. "You were a coward."

Turbo choked on a sob. "I still am..."

Ted blinked at Turbo, brushing his thumb on Turbo's forehead gently. "Yeah, you got that right..." He leaned down and rest his forehead against Turbo's again. Turbo shivered with breaths and closed his eyes tightly. "If you had come back, we would have protected you. We would have been mad, but we wouldn't have let anyone hurt you, you know that..."

Turbo whimpered again, nuzzling into Ted's touch lightly. "I'm so sorry..."

Ted smirked faintly, closing his own eyes before they filled with tears. "Are you really...? Thorry?"

Turbo almost laughed at Ted's impression but it immediately dissolved into a sob. "I worried about you two," he murmured, reaching for Ted a little hesitantly. Ted lifted his hand and caught Turbo's claws gently, rubbing his thumb into Turbo's palm although he doubted Turbo could feel it. "I was always...afraid to go into Game Central after I became King Candy, I was afraid of everyone, of everything, b-but sometimes I made the trip, and I looked, I always looked, but I never saw you...I was afraid to ask about you, afraid someone would figure it out, so I just...I gave up trying...I tried to forget you..."

"We used to game jump a lot back then," Ted said softly. "I mean, not...game jumping like you, just...hiding out. Loafing around. Anything to be in a game instead of stuck in Game Central. No one paid much notice to us after a while, so we were never missed..."

Turbo grasped Ted's hand as gently as he could, fearing the use of his own strength. "I missed you two..."

Ted laughed a little, awkwardly, closing his eyes with a tearful grin. "You have no idea how happy that makes me."

Turbo opened his eyes and glanced up at Ted, breathing out shakily. It was hard to take much charge of his thoughts or his emotions in King Candy's persona, he had spent so many years locking everything away, but he knew that a certain aspect of fear had faded from his mind, though in its place another had taken root. He realized for the first time that he utterly could not imagine losing the twins again, that the thought of being without them nearly petrified him, and that that fear went much deeper than King Candy, it was rooted deeply in his code, and it terrified him.

Turbo perked as he felt Ted plant a kiss lightly against his forehead. He blushed quickly and looked up at him with his eyes. Ted squeezed Turbo's claws and leaned his forehead against his friend's again, sighing. "God, I missed you..."

The door opened with a click. Ted lifted his head and looked toward the doorway, smiling as Ned stumbled in, panting slightly as Vanellope followed hurriedly. "T-the guards wouldn't let me in," Ned managed. "Is he okay? Did he stop glitching?"

Ted nodded with a breath of relief. Turbo glanced over at the two for a moment, but a red flickering glitch crossed his face when he saw Vanellope and he turned away quickly, twisting his body round to be back on his side, shifting from his defenseless position to something more aggressive.

Vanellope frowned. She looked from Ted to Turbo and back. "He's alright then?"

"I think he's okay," Ted said, glancing at Turbo. Turbo had placed his chin on the floor, his body arched slightly behind him, and was staring sharply, fixedly at Vanellope. Ted supposed it made sense. The king had more right to hate Vanellope than Turbo did. "It was just a nightmare..."

Vanellope nodded slightly and glanced at Ned, who let out a breath of relief as he looked in at his brothers. He glanced back at her with a guilty smile. "Sorry for waking you...We were scared."

"No, I'm glad you did," Vanellope said softly as she glanced back at Ted and Turbo. Ted couldn't help but notice there was a note of concern in her voice, though what it was aimed at was hard to tell. "Well...if everything's okay, then I'll let you three get back to sleep."

A glitch ran down Turbo's spine and he seemed to be fighting quite hard to keep from shouting something. Ted gave his clawed hand a squeeze, although he doubted if Turbo could feel much of the touch.

Vanellope watched the two of them for a moment with mild suspicion before she looked up at Ned and gave him a nod, raising her brows as she stepped back out into the hall and let the guard shut the door behind her.

Turbo seemed to immediately relax at the click of the latch. Ned approached him quickly, kneeling down next to his brother and smiling. "You're okay, then...?"

"He's more than okay," Ted said, "he's King Candy again."

Turbo's eyes flickered to Ted and back to Ned. "The guards wouldn't let you in to see Vanellope? I've never heard of such a thing, they ought to be reprimanded for that! I mean, look at you, what exactly are you going to do to their precious glitch?!"

Ned blushed faintly at Turbo, smiling as he leaned down closer to him. "I'm glad you're okay, Turbo."

Turbo blinked at him, then blushed a little himself, glancing aside. "Well, yes, I'm fine now...so...no need to worry." He glanced briefly at Ted and back at Ned again. "A-ah, Ned..."

"Tell him what you told me," Ted said gently. Turbo glanced at him and Ted smiled, nodding. "Tell him everything."

Turbo stared at Ted a moment, then he let his breath out slowly, looking back at Ned. "Right, everything..."

* * *

Ted and Ned woke early the next morning. In getting up, they accidentally woke a very sleepy Turbo, back to his default personality by now, who hissed at the two of them and made a scene of trying to keep them from getting up by pulling them back in against him with his insect legs. After a bit of struggling, the two of them managed to disengage the cybug and bid him a quiet farewell as they were slipping out. He was rather bitter, but too sleepy to do much about it, warning them to stay out of trouble (although he knew that's just what they were getting themselves into) and sleepily curling himself back up without another thought.

It was at least a couple hours before Turbo was awoken again by a sound in the hall.

The cybug tilted his head as the door opened. Goodbar had apparently been replaced once again, and an older gentleman whom Turbo remembered vaguely leaned into the doorway, holding it open for Vanellope before stepping quietly after her. She faced Turbo with the same cool gaze as always. Unintimidated. Angry, but but not spiteful. He shifted his shoulders slightly, but didn't get up, scuffling his legs into the pile of pillows as he tugged them up under him. "What do you want?"

Vanellope glanced around the empty room. "Where are the twins?"

"Who knows," Turbo muttered, watching her closely.

"Are you feeling better?"

"What do you _want?"_

Vanellope was silent for a moment, and the two watched each other in suspicious silence. There was a buzzing tension in the silence of the room, the empty sound of two people sizing one another up. "You've been here three days now," Vanellope said suddenly. "Pretty soon I'm gonna have to figure out what to do with you."

Turbo lifted his head slightly at this. His chest grew tight.

Vanellope glanced aside, shrugging. "There are options, of course. All comes down to what you deserve for what you've done."

Turbo scowled faintly, but in truth, he had grown anxious. It wasn't right that she should have this power over him, that she should have him at her mercy. Or was it right? Wasn't he the one who had taken power from her in the first place? He shook off the thought. Feeling the need to at least dominate her somehow, he hoisted himself up on his insectile legs and crept forward to tower over her. Vanellope's expression never changed and it wrenched at his pride to have no affect on her at all.

"And what do you think you deserve, Turbo?"

Turbo perked, blinking at her. A flicker of the glitch ran down his back. "What?"

"You know what you're guilty of better than anybody," she said. Her voice was cold. "So, what do you think you deserve?"

Turbo hesitated. There were two ways of answering this. He could suck it up and be honest, for once admitting his own faults, recalling those fears and guilts which had plagued him the night before, or he could-

"To be king," he said sharply. He craned his neck down, moving his face toward her. "I deserve to be in charge of this game and everyone in it. I worked for years reprogramming it to suit me, and you ruined the whole thing in a heartbeat." He clicked his claws against his claws, grinning. "I put a lot of work into this, and I deserve it back."

Vanellope's face had finally shifted. A deeper level of anger had flared up in those brown eyes of hers as she stared at him. "You think that's what you deserve?" Her voice cracked as it rose. "After all you've done?!"

He sneered toothily. "I deserve to be recognized for what I am."

"And what's that?!" she snapped.

Turbo drew a soft breath. "The greatest racer who ever lived in this arcade..."

Vanellope stared at him for a moment, long and hard, her eyes flashing with anger. Then she spoke, her voice at first quite low, though it grew in volume as the indescribable anger struggles out of her. "You know what you are, Turbo? You're a fraud. You're a liar and a tyrant and a fake. You burned anyone and anything that got in your way, and you did _everything_ in your power to keep everyone else from ever knowing what you did. And you think you deserve to be rewarded for that? Rewarded for what you did to this game?!" She clenched her fists at her sides, her voice breaking with anger. "You know what you deserve, Turbo? You deserve to know _exactly _what you put me through! You deserve to spend the next thirty years of your life with half your code ripped out, being a _real_ glitch, with all your memories and everyone's memories of you locked away so no one has to remember what you did to them! You deserve to be trapped someplace where you will never be allowed to race and no one will even talk to you because you don't belong to this game and you're nothing but a nuisance and an eyesore to everyone around you! How would you like that, huh? How would you like it if the twins forgot you, if they couldn't remember you so they treated you like a stranger?! A stranger who wasn't even good enough to race with them!" She stepped forward and to Turbo's abrupt surprise, he stepped back submissively. "I ought to do to you exactly what you did to me, Turbo! Because _that's_ what you deserve!"

Turbo felt his heart pounding, he stared at her with large fearful eyes. He didn't seem to be breathing. What was happening? Why did he say that, why would he provoke her?! She had the power to control his fate now, why was he being so stupid?! "You...don't know how to..."

"No," she said sharply, her fists at her sides. "I don't know how to do that. But I'm sure I could figure it out, and in the meantime, I can just lock you up someplace the twins can't get to you, how'd that be?"

He stared at her, trembling, his thoughts racing. Then before he could stop himself, he took a sudden breath and red static rippled through him as he shouted, "Piss off, glitch!"

Vanellope froze, her face red and angry and hot. She seemed to be trying to say something but it didn't come, the words didn't come. So she turned suddenly and walked away. The guard opened the door for her obediently, glancing with worrisome eyes back at Turbo before he followed her out. It was only when the door clicked shut that Turbo felt the panic streak through him.

_What the hell did I do that for?! _

He began pacing in a panic, his mind racing as he tried to formulate some sort of plan. This was it, this was it. He'd screwed it up as badly as he could imagine screwing it up, and he had no choice now but to run. He looked at the window swiftly. If he was going to be locked up alone without the twins, what difference did it make anyway?! No, she couldn't do this to him, she couldn't ruin him like this, she couldn't take them away from him! They were all he had left, dammit! He had to escape, he had to run. He had to get somewhere, anywhere, and hide. He scrambled to the window, tearing open the panes. But how, how could he hide without being found in Sugar Rush?! No, he'd find a way, he had to! So he'd never get his avatar back, who the hell cared any more, he just couldn't be locked up forever. He'd leave the twins but at least they'd remember him, maybe they could find him someday, maybe they could go back into hiding-but dammit, right now he just had to get away!

The door opened again and he turned toward it quickly, half-clambered over railing at the window, his eyes wide and panicky. Ted and Ned stood in the doorway, looking at him and blinking in surprise. "T-ted," Turbo stammered, "Ned, w-what are you...?"

"What...are you doing?" Ted asked uncertainly, stepping in. Turbo perked, glimpsing the guard in the doorway, who was smiling faintly to himself as he pulled the door shut behind them. He looked back at Ted and Ned quickly.

"D-didn't you pass Vanellope? Didn't she say anything to you?"

Ted and Ned glanced at each other and blinked before looking back at him. "She...said we should pop in and visit you?" Ned answered uncertainly.

"Did something happen?" Ted asked. "She seemed a bit off. Didn't mention it though."

Turbo stared at them, his heart still pounding heavily. It was a bluff. That little glitch, it was a bluff, and she'd actually shaken him up with it. Of course she would never pull something like that, she was too much the coward for it! But this, dammit, he showed his own fear in front of her!

He perked suddenly, blinking as he felt Ted's hand on his face. He looked up at the twins quickly. They had come to stand beside him, both smiling gently. "You okay there?" Ted asked. "Looks like you were trying to break out."

"I-I was," Turbo muttered uncertainly. Without another word, he reached out and put an arm around each of the twins, pulling them in against him. They blinked in surprise at the sudden embrace, looking at one another curiously. Ted smirked faintly, taking his opportunity being close to Turbo to give him an extra little hug around the neck, nuzzling his face on Turbo's head lightly. Turbo tugged away with a grimace and released the both of them."I just...ah...where were you two?"

"Checking out the vault," Ted said. "We've got some incredible news."

"What's that?"

"As of right now, the vault's unguarded."

Turbo blinked. "...that's impossible."

"I was just there!" Ted said, grinning. "'There were about ten guards outside, but a messenger came for them with an emergency, and they all took off together! Course, there's still the password to get in, but there's nobody guarding it right now."

Turbo shook his head faintly. He knew the guards in the palace could be a bit lax, but this was ridiculous. "You're sure...?" he asked skeptically.

Ted nodded. "All the racers are at the track now, and Vanellope is heading out too, so the castle is pretty empty. We think we can get you there."

"What about the guard outside this door?" he asked.

Ted shook his head and pointed to the window. "You need to go out this way, go one window over to the next room. There's an adjoining door that opens onto another hall—there's nobody on guard there. You just have to get out the window and back in without being noticed from outside. We think if you time it with the race, you should be able to do it while the citizens are thoroughly distracted."

Turbo hummed softly, looking the two of them over. His heart was still pounding, but he swallowed back his fears. "You seem to have really thought this through. I'm actually a little impressed."

They saluted, in unison. "We're gonna head over to the other door. We figure you can get the timing on your own, but we'll open the other window and be ready for you."

* * *

Vanellope sat back in the candy chair, the licorice string from her hoodie draped through her mouth. Beside her, Sour Bill was standing low to the ground, his gaze moderately anxious. "Well, that's that then," she said softly.

"Your Majes-"

"President, Sour Bill."

"President...Vanellope, I must say that I really don't find this to be a very good idea..."

Vanellope sighed, removing the earpiece from her ear and placing it on the dresser in front of her. "Well, then, I guess it's a good thing it's my idea and not yours, hm?" Sour Bill glanced away, fumbling a little with his jellybean hands. She laughed a bit awkwardly and bit her lip, pulling her shoulders up. Then she frowned quietly."Thank you," she said gently, "for looking out for me—and for this game. I know how hard it is for you after what happened with Turbo. But sometimes a president's just got to make risky decisions, and this is one I'm willing to make."

Sour Bill nodded ruefully, glancing up at her as she stood and brushed off her skirt. "I just wish they hadn't lied to me. I mean, I understand Turbo's an old friend, but...I really hoped the twins weren't lying."

Sour Bill watched her as she stepped by, then moved after her quietly. "Miss Vanellope, Turbo is..."

She looked down at him quietly, but Sour Bill had lowered his gaze, the words seeming to fail him. Vanellope hesitated, then she knelt down to his level, looking at him solemnly. "I know King Candy meant a lot to you." He looked up at her a bit wearily. "I can't say I remember him fondly myself, but...well." She hesitated, then sighed, nodding as she steeled herself for her decision. "I've got to deal with this."

Sour Bill nodded slowly. "Please be careful, Miss Vanellope..."

She smiled at him gently and reached out, patting him on top of his green orb of a head. "You know I will be." That said, she stood again and hurried out of the room.


	13. Chapter Twelve - Code

_Author Notes: So, I saw ParaNorman this past week and fell head-over-heels in love with it. I won't give away any spoilers, but I will say that it strongly influenced my development of Turbo's backstory. I've finally settled on a full story about what happened, why he left, the cause of the game-jumping, etc. It won't actually come up in the fic until part two, but I'm really pleased to finally know the whole thing myself._

_Anyway. Sorry to keep leaving you at the edge of cliffs!_

* * *

Chapter Twelve - Code

Turbo kept low to the ground on instinct as he slipped through the curtain behind the throne. He could hardly fathom how it was possible that they'd gotten this far, that the twins had actually managed to sneak him into the royal chambers and through to the vault without being seen. It was a much tighter fit now in his cybug body, but he was anxious and admittedly a bit afraid, and the size of the hall leading to the vault was the least of his troubles.

The twins had agreed to stand guard at the doors to the throne room, leaving Turbo to proceed to the vault on his own. He drew a quavering breath as the first of the doors slid open before him, revealing the soft blue light of the entry hall that ended at the vault door. He'd always had a certain feeling of deviousness when he approached the vault, but today the feeling was different. It was desperate and nervous, and rather than reveling in his knowledge of this place and his control over it, he just wanted to get this visit over with. He crept through the hall carefully, ducked low, his feet ticking loudly in the enclosed space. With a trembling hand, he extended his claws to punch in the code. It seemed highly unlikely that the code could still be the same, but for the sake of not knowing any better, he tapped in the old familiar sequence and was surprised to hear the system accept it. The red lights blinked to green and the vault door's controller key rotated smoothly ninety degrees before locking into place and sliding open with a hiss.

'She didn't even change the code?' he thought briefly.

Fumbling a little with the cords, he eventually secured the end of the lifeline just under his chest. As he crept to the edge of the vault, he felt a pang of anxiety at not having Sour Bill present at the other end of his cable, but he tried his best to brush that thought aside as he stumbled a bit uncertainly out into the anti-gravity of the code space.

It was different, being a cybug. His coordination was off, and it was significantly more difficult than he remembered to get his bearings and move in the empty space. He buzzed his wings to life and managed to use them to stabilize himself before clawing his way over to the main convergence of codes, glowing softly and warmly in the dark emptiness of the vault. Casting his eyes over the tangle of cables and code boxes, he eventually spied his own code, King Candy's code, and clawed his way to it. The code box itself was looking a bit worse for wear, a few loose cables barely still connected to the body, with sparks glimmering at the ends. There was definitely a glitch, that was for sure. He touched the code with a claw and it opened up before him, allowing him a look at the details of the coding itself. Yes, there were connections that didn't used to be there. The parts of his original code had become near indistinguishable from King Candy's, and the whole thing was riddled with bits of cybug.

This was not good. His heart continued to sink as he scrolled through the coding with his claws, eyes darting over the surface. It was a mess, a disaster. This could take hours to repair, maybe days. If he even could repair it, and the more he scrolled, the more impossible it seemed to become. His throat caught. This was all for nothing, he thought desperately, I can't do this.

"You really shouldn't be in here."

Turbo spun, his spindly legs spiraling in the anti-gravity. Vanellope stood in the doorway of the vault, looking in at him with raised brows. Turbo's heart pounded. She didn't seem particularly surprised to see him, and as he looked back at her wide-eyed himself, the deep shameful weight of realization that he had been outsmarted sunk down in his chest.

Vanellope leaned on the vault's door frame lightly, putting her hands in her pockets. "I didn't race the random roster the morning," she said. "I decided to hang around and keep an eye on you."

Turbo let out a bit of a shaky breath, unsure if what was rising up in him was rage or horror or fear. "You set me up," he muttered.

"I knew you wouldn't try breaking into the vault yourself," Vanellope said. "And I wanted to make sure that the twins were really helping you."

He perked, a hot breath escaping his lips. He clenched his clawed hands into fists as a desperate streak ran through him. "They didn't help me, I came on my own!" A red ripple of a glitch coursed down his spine.

Vanellope rolled her eyes, pointing her thumb over her shoulder. "I just ran into them 'guarding' the door out there. Doesn't matter anyway, we had you all bugged. We've heard everything you've been saying since we brought you in here."

Turbo's heart sunk. A legitimate feeling of guilt settled into him. He had compromised the twins, after everything they'd done for him. "D-dammit..."

"I'm not gonna punish them or anything," Vanellope said, "if that's what you're thinking." He looked up at her again, his eyes still wide. Vanellope tilted her head, speaking softly. "Or you, for that matter. Got a look at your code, huh? It looks pretty bad. To be honest, I don't really get all that code stuff, but I did have a look at it after we brought you in." Turbo stared at her, his mind racing, trying to make sense of what the hell was happening and why she was talking as though he was a disobedient child instead of a psychopath deeply embedded in the coding of her game. "If you're interested," she continued, "I did have a pretty revealing chat with Ms. Calhoun about cybugs the other day. I didn't tell her you were here, of course, but I managed to find some stuff out that might interest you."

Turbo studied her suspiciously, keeping very still.

Vanellope shrugged. "But, if you're not interested..."

"I am," he snapped, cursing himself under his breath.

Vanellope smirked faintly. "Well, in Hero's Duty," she began, smiling faintly at the name, "guys get eaten by cybugs from time to time. S'part all part of the game. So it's not unusual for a guy to be in your, well, position. You're kind of a special case not belonging to this game and all, but, that's beside the point. The thing is, most times, when a cybug whose eaten a character is killed in the beacon—like you were—the character just regenerates as he should, no more cybug. But sometimes, cuz of a glitch, the character will regenerate still as a cybug—that's you."

Turbo watched her closely. His interest was undeniable, but he was still suspicious of the child, his enemy, who spoke of this matter like it was a joke. The whole time he watched her he was trying to make sense of what was happening, why she was standing there, by herself, talking to him, why she didn't have her guard rallied to take him in.

She continued, gesturing with her hands. "Now when that happens, a guy regenerating as a cybug, usually just killing the bug again will get the character to regenerate properly. But, we probably don't want to do that with you, because we're not sure the whole regeneration thing wasn't just a fluke in the first place. So, Calhoun says, on _really_ rare occasions, a character will get stuck as a cybug, and keep regenerating as one. Until, the character resets. Now in Hero's Duty, all the characters automatically reset when a new game is started, but here in Sugar Rush, characters only reset when they run the roster race. Like me."

Turbo blinked at her, his mind running through the scenario she'd just described to him. "...I need to race."

"Bingo, jerkface." She pushed off the wall and stood, hands in her pocket, sticking out her bottom lip at him. "Just like my code reset after you tried to make me a glitch (thanks again), yours should reset if you compete in a roster race and finish. You don't even have to place, in fact, you shouldn't. But as long as you finish the race, your code should reset. I mean, maybe nothing will happen at all, you'll probably still have your glitch (I do), but, it could at least get you back to King Candy's avatar. Which is what you want, right? So you can race again, right?"

Turbo stared at her. He didn't know what to think or what to say. What was she talking about? Was she saying she'd let him race again if he got back to his avatar? Why? Was she giving him his freedom indefinitely? He lowered his eyes a little, trying to focus on the idea she'd presented. It made about as much sense as anything else, but when he thought about it it seemed rather more like wishful thinking. "I can't race like this..."

"Well," Vanellope mused, "like I said, you don't have to win. You just have to finish. So, if you can get the car to go forward and not drive it off a cliff, you should be okay. You just need to finish the roster race before the first quarter alert. If we get the race started a little early, I can give you some extra time."

Turbo thought this over carefully, then he lifted his eyes to her, trying to force down his feelings of pride to focus on what he really wanted. "You mean you'd...actually let me race the roster?"

Vanellope smirked and shrugged, looking aside. "I didn't say I'd let you win, but yeah. I'll let you race." She looked back in at him. "But right now, you've gotta get out of there, because I don't trust you quite enough to let you mess around with the codes on your lonesome."

Turbo frowned. He glanced back once more at King Candy's code, ravaged with the cybug virus and still sparking where the other cables connected to it. Grimacing, he turned away and pushed himself toward the vault door. Once there, Vanellope backed up to give him room and he scrambled into the doorway, insectile legs skittering a bit on the floor. He undid the lifeline around his chest and followed her reluctantly out as she locked the vault back up and hit a few extra buttons at the end. "Changing the code back to my own now, so don't bother trying this again."

He watched her with a sour frown until she shot him a look, at which he turned away to let her put her own code in. The blue-lit hall was empty and quiet. "You didn't even bring any guards...?"

Vanellope turned back toward him, lowering her brows seriously. "Don't get any ideas, Turbug. You try anything and I'll regenerate and then you'll be in even bigger trouble than before, okay? And you wouldn't want the twins to get wrapped up in some quest for revenge, would you?"

She stepped by him giving him a steady glance. Turbo grimaced darkly and slowly followed, his neck low. His utter inability to frighten her was beginning to grate on his nerves, but she was right. His concern for the twins gave her a power over him that was nigh impossible to get around. "I don't...understand why you're doing this," he muttered.

Vanellope crossed into the next hall, and Turbo behind her. The second sliding door slipped shut with a metallic hiss. "Don't get me wrong, Turbo," she said, glancing back. "I don't like you, and I don't like what you did to this game or how you've treated me or anybody else here. But the twins are nice, and they don't deserve to be punished just because _you're_ a jerk, even if they did lie to me. I like them and I'd really like for them to be a part of this game." She held his gaze seriously. "Those twins would do anything for you, you know that? So you'd better not screw this up for them."

Turbo's frown grew a little deeper and he answered grimly, "I won't."

She looked back at him seriously a moment, then she nodded firmly and looked ahead, pushing through the curtain and stepping into the royal chambers. Turbo hesitated a moment out of sight, trying to wrap his brain around what the hell was happening, then he slowly followed her through. Vanellope had stepped around the throne and as he crept along behind her, she climbed up into it. She'd refitted the throne which had long allowed room for King Candy's prize kart as its base into an _actual_ throne, cushioned seat and all. Turbo hated it. She crossed her legs and looked at him seriously. Turbo stopped moving in something of a crouch, watching her with sharp eyes. "I'm giving you three days," Vanellope said, "I sent the twins to make you a kart, and you can train with the them back out on Chocolate Twist. I'll make sure everybody stays clear of that track after hours. Come back here in time for the roster race on Thursday. We'll get you a coin and you can have a fair shot."

Turbo frowned at her toothily. "What about the other racers"?"

"Well," Vanellope said, waving a hand, "I've got three days to prepare them. So, until then, try not to be seen. The guards here are awful—I'm sure you already know that—so rumours have already been spreading. But...I'll do what I can. Kinda doubt anyone's gonna be happy to see you, though." She looked back at him, her expression quite serious now. Turbo had taken a step back and turned to go, ready to get out of here, to get himself somewhere he could think all this over. "Before you go, Turbo," she finally said, "I just wanted to say...I heard what you said to Ted and Ned last night."

Turbo started. He turned to her swiftly, his eyes flashing yellow. A strain go horror ran through him as he thought of the night before, his admission of weakness, King Candy's pathetic crying! He'd admitted his greatest fears to the twins, if she'd heard it-! He clenched his teeth, his face red, grasping at curses that didn't quite make it past his lips.

Vanellope gazed at him resolutely. "I would never take the twins away from you, okay?"

Turbo let out the breath that caught in his throat, looking away, body tense.

Vanellope sighed softly, tilting her head and leaning on one arm of the throne. "I didn't really mean much of what I said earlier, I figure you realized that. I mean, I wouldn't really do any of that to you...but you did a _really_ awful thing to thing to this game. You do know that, right?"

Turbo took a slightly shuddering breath. He wasn't sure how to feel. For what it was worth, he felt weak and pathetic and exposed. If there was one thing he hadn't wanted the glitch to know, it was the depth of the fear that had taken root in his code. He swallowed.

Vanellope regarded him quietly. "You don't _really_ think you deserve to rule in Sugar Rush again, do you...?"

He hesitated, then he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Those brown eyes were flickering yellow again. He lowered his neck a little to her level, his eyes cold. His face glitched over to Turbo briefly, then he straightened up and lifted his wings with a buzz. "No," he answered.

She watched him silently, and he admittedly was more than a bit upset with the fact that she was clearly neither afraid nor impressed by him. He had been compromised in every way possible. Even now, he was being spared, being shown mercy, being given a chance by _her. _It was almost insulting enough to make him not want to take her help, but...he couldn't turn her down. Not when she was offering the one thing in the world he wanted. The one thing he couldn't get on his own. Baring his teeth, he hoisted himself up his wings buzzed loudly as he lifted himself from the floor. "Three days!" he called back at her, turning and heading for the far end of the chamber.

"Try not to be seen!" she called after him, her hands still in her pocket. "And thank Ted and Ned, would ya? They've done an awful lot for you!

* * *

_Ten Minutes Earlier..._

Ted and Ned stood side-by-side just inside the doors of the royal chamber, peeking out into the hall from a slightly cracked open door. Ned took a breath and glanced toward the curtain where Turbo had disappeared before looking back at his brother, anxious "Do you think this is...okay?"

Ted leaned on the door lightly, watching the empty hall beyond the room. "What, you mean 'right'? Ethically?"

Ned hummed quietly. "I feel really bad about lying to Vanellope."

Ted glanced at Ned with his eyes, then back to the hall. "Can we not talk about it right now, Ned?"

Ned hummed again and nodded, fiddling with his hands behind his back. "Isn't it strange that the guards left so suddenly?"

"Yeah, well," Ted muttered, "stranger things have happened, right?" But those words had struck a feeling of doubt in him. He leaned back into the hall a little more, Ned close at his arm. "But you're right...Where did they all...go...?"

"Fancy meeting you two here!"

Ted and Ned both spun to face Vanellope, who stood just behind them, her arms folded, looking up at them with a rather serious expression. They exchanged a quick glance and looked back at her quickly, both of them fumbling for words, "We were just-"

"Helping Turbo break into the vault?" she asked. "You know this isn't the only entrance to this room."

They both froze. Instinctively, they reached out and gripped one another's hand. Ted's heart was racing. He wondered where he had gone wrong, where he had mis-stepped. And suddenly seemed to reveal itself, the pieces fitting together perfectly. The way Vanellope had been treating them, the way she'd told them to visit Turbo, the way the guards had vanished, the way the door to Turbo's adjoining room had been left unattended...

"You...knew," he breathed softly.

Vanellope nodded. "I suspected that you two were lying. So we've been eavesdropping, more or less."

Ned squeezed Ted's hand tightly. "Please," he said quickly, "don't lock Turbo up! He's not trying to hurt anybody in Sugar Rush, he just wants to race again!"

Ted glanced briefly at Ned and back at Vanellope nodding. "We're sorry we lied to you, and we won't think anything of it if you retract your invitation for us to join this game, but Turbo-"

"Look," Vanellope said loudly, cutting him off. She met his gaze again. Her chocolate brown eyes were firm. "If you want what's best for Turbo, you'll both leave the palace and head for the bakery to make some new karts, and then go straight to Chocolate Twist without stopping. That where Turbo was hiding out, right? Just leave now and go wait for him."

"Wait for him?" Ned murmured.

Ted almost jumped. "You're going to let him go?"

"I didn't say that!" Vanellope said sharply. "But...it's possible he might escape, okay?" She shifted a little, her gaze somewhat irresolute now. "Look, you two," she extended her hands, trying to give her words shape, "I'm really not happy that you lied to me. In fact, I'm pretty mad at the two of you. But I have to appreciate why you did it..." She sighed, looking up. "I know what it is to want to race more than anything in the world and not be able to. Why you still want to race with Turbo, I really don't know, but...I do understand how you feel. And I want to help you."

Ted and Ned both stared at her, their appreciation for her kindness brimming behind the relieved smiles on their faces. "Vanellope," Ted murmured.

"But," Vanellope said, "Turbo can't be allowed to mess about in the vault. I've got a much better idea that's a lot...safer for everyone involved, okay?" She pointed toward the door. "For the time being, you two need to go. You can see Turbug later, okay? Just go get Ted a new kart and head for wherever you usually met him. I'll take care of the rest."

The twins hesitated, then bowed to her quickly. "Thank you so much," they said in unison, and Ned answered meekly, "He means an awful lot to us."

She glanced at him quietly, sighing. "While you're at the bakery," she muttered, "make...another kart too, okay? Something front-heavy. Something...Turbug could possibly drive." The twins both blinked. They opened their mouths to speak but she lifted an open palm to them quickly before pointing at the door again. "Just go." The twins exchanged a quick look, then smiled at her rather gratefully and hurried out into the hall. She sighed and glanced back toward the curtain leading to the vault, letting out a deep, uncertain sigh. This might be the stupidest decision she ever made, but she supposed her heart was in the right place.

Ralph is going to kill me, she thought bitterly.


	14. Chapter Thirteen - Training

_Author Notes: __Gonna address a couple things that came up in a comment from Dixie Darlin real quick- Hopefully the last chapter made it clear that Vanellope wasn't being all-too-serious in her threats toward Turbo when she had that outburst at him. The threats were mostly a bluff meant to scare him. As for what Turbo said, the dialogue about him deserving to be king again, that was actually one of the rare moments in writing this where a character took over for themselves. I hadn't much planned out the dialogue in that scene, and as I was writing it in the moment, Turbo's lines just kind of...happened. If you're a writer and you've ever had a character make an unexpected move on you, you know how exciting that can be. After writing the lines, I had to go back and think them over and I decided that, yes, they were true in my headcanon. Turbo knows in his heart that he doesn't belong in Sugar Rush and that nothing in Sugar Rush was ever legitimately his. But at the same time, he has spent _years_ convincing himself otherwise. In my head, the first few years of being King Candy were filled with him constantly trying to justify himself, trying to convince himself that all of this was due him. And without someone, like Ted and Ned, to put him in perspective and tell him to stop with the lies, Turbo was free to continue indulging in those legitimizing thoughts. So, yes, Turbo knows quite well that deep down he has no claim to Sugar Rush. But there is still a part of him that, after years of conditioning, says quite greedily: this should still be mine._

_Anyway, this story moves along quickly, but I just wanted to mention those couple things before I move on. :) I enjoyed this chapter. The next one is not so good though, hahaha, me trying to write a racing scene...I laugh at myself. As always though, thank you!_

* * *

Chapter Thirteen - Training

Turbo paced anxiously at the edge of the track, waiting for the twins to find him. The day had gone painfully slowly as he waited for arcade hours to pass, but now that the day was over he was nearly overwhelmed with excitement. He respected Vanellope's request to stay hidden, as much as he could respect anything she asked of him, but knowing that he was now in the clear, at least for the next three days, left him feeling far more confident, and he now lingered out in the open, on the track just outside the gumdrop forest.

Turbo lifted his head as he heard the sound of engines approaching. His instinct was to duck into the forest, but he forced himself to stay put on the track, watching eagerly as the twins came looping around the curve downhill from him and eased up on the gas as they approached. Both Ted and Ned were grinning eagerly, excitedly, and as they came to a stop in the middle of the track, Turbo bounded forward to greet them, itching to race.

"What took you so long?!" he snapped.

"Cool your jets, Turbo!" Ted said, waving his hand as he climbed out of the kart. It was only now that Turbo noticed the kart Ted had been driving, a new one, significantly better looking than the ones the twins had been racing before, and quite different in style. Ted grinned at him, gesturing to the kart with both hands. "We were making this for you!"

Turbo hesitated before quickly skittering closer, craning his neck as he moved around the kart, examining it from every angle. It was certainly nothing like his old Sugar Rush kart, the one he had stolen from Vanellope when he programmed himself into the game, but it was nicely made, and he could tell it had been made specially with him in mind.

It was an exceedingly familiar shade of...salmon.

"It's front heavy," Ned said. "It handles pretty badly for us, but for you it ought to be pretty good."

Turbo crept around the back of the kart, leaning forward to look in at the interior. The steering wheel and the pedals had been made quite a bit larger than normal, and the seat had been removed entirely. In fact, the whole interior had been carved out to allow him to lay across it.

"We're hoping you can reach the pedals with those little front legs of yours," Ted said, gesturing to him. "It's gonna be awkward no matter what, but we did what we could...So, what exactly is the deal, huh?" Ted folded his arms, smirking curiously. "Vanellope just said to build a kart you could drive. What's she want you driving for?"

Turbo reached out to touch the kart with his claws, leaning over it almost a bit affectionately before he swung his head round to look at Ted suddenly. "W-what? Oh, well..." Turbo took a breath and withdrew a bit from the kart, glancing to Ted and Ned both to explain Vanellope's theory. The twins' excitement at the idea was obvious. When he'd finished explaining, trying his best not to express his own concern or skepticism, he looked back round at the kart again, obviously enamored with it. "A-ah, but...Ted, you drove this kart here?"

Ted shrugged. "Had to get it here somehow. I made myself a new kart and left it at the bakery, I can get it later. I'll just ride with Ned for now."

Turbo nodded a little vaguely, looking back at the kart again. "I want to try it out."

"Well," Ted said, stepping over to Ned's kart and hopping in as his brother scooted over to give him room, "climb in—or, uh, on—and let's get training."

* * *

It was mostly a catastrophe at first. The function of Turbo's cybug body may have come naturally in most respects, but racing was a trained art that didn't translate well into the new form. The force needed to do anything—accelerating, breaking, steering—was considerably different from what he was used to. The first few attempts to get going wound up in almost immediate over-accelerations and crashes into the side of the course. After a few more tries, they at least got going and around the first bend before Turbo scraped into a wall, yelling and cursing. He was enraged at his inability to drive, to do the one thing he had always been able to do. Based on his current 'skills', he would never even_ finish_ the race, when he should be able to place _first_! He slumped over the car, his forehead on the dash, insectile legs sprawled around him, pounding a fist on the door.

"Come on, Turbo!" Ned called over. "Don't give up already!"

"It's impossible!" Turbo shouted, lifting his head with what seemed like a great deal of effort. "I can't drive like this! Those brats won't even have to try running me off the road, I'll do it on my own!"

Ted sighed, looking at Ned, who was looking back at him with a grimace. "Well you've hardly given it a fair shot," Ted muttered. "Come on, we've got all day! Get your legs back in that car!"

* * *

To all their surprise, Turbo actually did improve as the afternoon wore on, although the rate of improvement was painfully slow. When the twins finally gave up late into the night, Turbo had made three laps around the track without a wreck, and although he wasn't going very fast, it was progress. The twins were exceedingly proud of his success. But Turbo was still frustrated and discouraged. He clambered out of his kart with a groan and slumped on the edge of the track as though he'd simply been spat out of the sky there and left to die. The twins got out of their kart and stepped over to join him. Ned took a seat on the edge of the track by Turbo's head. And Ted, shamelessly, took a seat on Turbo's back, looking out at the salmon-colored kart with a few good chunks taken out of it. Turbo was too upset to bother pushing Ted off.

"We've got two more days," Ned said softly.

Turbo groaned, his head flopped to one side on the ground. "We can't practice while the arcade is open."

Ned sighed defeatedly glancing at Ted, whose attention still seemed to be consumed by the kart. "Turbo," he muttered. "you can't just give up."

Turbo groaned again, laying an arm over his face. "I can't race..."

"Shut up, yes you can," Ted said, giving him a light kick with his heel, though he knew Turbo wouldn't really feel it. "We've got two days."

"I just said-"

"We've got _two days_," Ted repeated, shooting him a glare. "If we can't practice during arcade hours, we'll practice all night and sleep while the arcade's open. All you have to do is get across the finish line. So all we have to do is get you fit enough to get up to speed and stay on the track."

Turbo lowered his arm slightly from his face, gazing wearily at Ted.

Ted stared back at him with a hard gaze. "Even if you cross that finish line in last place, it'll work, right?"

"Last place," Turbo sputtered.

Ted rubbed his thumb under his chin thoughtfully. "Come on, King Turbo Bug, let's get back to work."

"Don't call me that," Turbo muttered without much enthusiasm.

"Turbo," Ted said grimly, looking over at his brother. "If you don't get back on that kart, you're gonna regret it."

Turbo huffed, still not moving. Ted groaned in frustration himself now, lowering his face into his hands . Ned looked back at him a moment, then took a breath before scrambling to his feet and dashing off into the gumdrop trees. Ted lowered his hands into his lap and watched his brother go lamely. "For the best racer who ever lived, you're acting awfully pathetic, Turbo."

Eventually annoyed enough to react, Turbo raised one of his hind legs and pushed Ted off his back. Ted stumbled a little and stepped around to the cybug's head, leaning over him. "This is your shot! Come on, you wanted this!"

"It's no use," Turbo muttered, gazing dully across the ground. "I'm going to be stuck like this forever, I'll never race again..."

Ted groaned, kneeling down. He reached forward and slipped his hands under Turbo's chin, picking up his head in his hands and giving Turbo a sharp, determined stare. The King's skin flickered grey under his fingers. "Come on, you're Turbo! You don't give up! You're a narcissistic little bastard who wins no matter what the cost!"

Turbo looked up at him blearily. It almost looked as though he wanted cry. Ted closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. It was clear the words were having no effect. He dropped the racer's chin back to the ground, shaking his head in defeat. He had never seen Turbo like this. Bullying him had always prompted Turbo to action, but now he seemed beyond that sort of help, and Ted didn't have much else to offer. He reached out and lay his hand on Turbo's forehead, brushing his thumb over the king's eyebrow gently. "C'mon, Turbo..."

Ted turned at the sound of his brother returning, running up from out of the forest. He was holding something small in his hands, but Ted couldn't quite tell what it was. Almost stumbling a little, Ned rushed up to the two of them, dropping to kneel in front of Turbo with a _whumph_. "Turbo, you have to race again!"

Turbo glanced at him briefly, his expression dull, then the something in Ned's hands caught his attention and he lifted his chin, his brows raised. "What is that...?"

Blushing, Ned lifted the hand that mostly hid the object from view, revealing a small, yellow trophy, pieced together from parts of yellow gumdrops. The racer smiled at Turbo encouragingly. "It's a trophy. It's yours, if you make it across the finish line."

Turbo reached out a clawed hand slowly, touching the little statue with his pointed fingertips and lifting his head a little more as he did so. "You made this for me...?"

Ned smiled at him gingerly. "You've got to keep trying. Ted and I want to race you again, really race you. So you've got to learn to drive again. Otherwise, who are we gonna be able to pick on when we race out there?"

Turbo looked from the little trophy up to Ned's face again. He hesitated, then slowly, he hoisted up the weight of his body, his form trembling slightly with tiredness as he stood once again before them. His face still seemed uncertain, but there was something of a renewed spark in his brown eyes. A ripple of a glitch flickered down his spine and he nodded. "Alright...let's try it again..." Turbo turned and headed quietly for the kart, taking a few deep breaths as he left them. Sputtering out a laugh, Ted turned toward his brother with an almost tearful smile and leaned over to kiss Ned's cheek as he tipped his head against him. Ned smiled back at Ted, snuggling his helmet against his twin's before he stood, ready to race again.

They spent the rest of that night on the track, and Turbo did seem to improve, though it wasn't without a lot of swearing and crashing. Eventually, the twins simply couldn't stay up any longer, but by that point Turbo had at least made it the full lap without crashing, while matching speed with the twins' cart. A huge accomplishment by the twins' standards, but they simply couldn't stay up to train with him any more. Tired and sore, they begged him to stop for the night, but he was determined now, and when Ted and Ned turned in for the night, he yelled a few hollow insults at them and continued on the track by himself. The twins moved to the gumdrop forest, to a spot where they could see him whenever he went by, and settled down side-by-side. They watched and listened to him a little while, but eventually fell asleep curled up next to one another.

Ted was awoken a few times during the night by the sound of crashes and cursing. But he kept wondering to himself if it was real or a dream as he drifted back to sleep.

When he finally woke in the morning, huddled up against his brother, he found Turbo fast asleep on his other side, his legs sprawled out beside him. The cybug's armor had been dented in a few places and there were a few cuts and bruises on his face that hadn't been there the day before, but other than that, he looked alright. Ted smiled faintly, reaching over to brush the cybug's forehead lightly. Turbo's brows twitched a little before he opened his eyes, looking blearily at Ted.

"Long night, huh?"

Turbo lifted a clawed hand sleepily and pushed Ted's hand away, closing his eyes again with a sigh. "Let me sleep..."

Ted fell back asleep shortly after. The threesome spent the better part of arcade hours fast asleep there in the gumdrop forest. Eventually, Turbo dragged himself to a crouch, stiff and sore, and moved himself to the twins' other side, settling back down close to Ned in a spot that was significantly more hidden from the track. It was nearing the end of arcade hours when Ned finally began to stir, stretching himself out before he sat up with a yawn, rubbing at his eyes and listening for the sound of engines. The racers were all the way on the other side of the game by the sound of it. Ned perked as Turbo stretched out one of his legs and placed it across his waist. He looked over at his cybug comrade, smiling faintly. "Morning, Turbo. Or, uh...afternoon?"

Turbo was gazing up at him sleepily. He tugged on Ned lightly but the twin placed his hand on Turbo's leg and shook his head. "We gotta get up soon...You've got more training to do."

Turbo groaned softly, shifting himself around on the ground beside him, stretching his buggy limbs out with a shiver. "My kart...needs some repairs."

Ned smiled at him, nodding. "Ted and I can work on it."

It was still a little while before Ted woke up, groggy and grim, but after a little gentle coaxing from his brother, he got himself up and the two set to work doing repairs on Turbo's kart there in the gumdrop forest. Turbo watched them quietly from where he lay, still catching up on his rest and knowing there was little he could do to help them anyway. His oversized hands with their razor claws wouldn't be much use in kart maintenance. Eventually the sound of the engines wore away and Turbo felt safe enough to get himself up and move over to the twins, sitting up and watching them, offering his often-unwanted opinion on what they should be doing to fix the kart.

"Turbo, you smashed off half the front," Ted muttered. "We're gonna need to go back to the bakery to fix this. Hell, we may as well just make you a new kart at this point."

Turbo lowered his neck, almost pouting faintly as he looked the salmon-colored car over. "No, I like this one," he murmured, touching the hood with his claws. "Just repair it, it'll be fine."

Ted scowled at him. "Okay, it's not my fault you fell in love with this thing, but you gotta take better care of it, okay? Dammit, how are we supposed to go all the way to the bakery and back? It was hard enough getting it here in the first place..." Ted trailed off, glancing over his shoulder at the sound of an engine approaching. Turbo immediately ducked back and crouched himself low to the ground. The threesome fell silent together, listening as the engine stopped, pulling up at the edge of the track. They could see the faint outline of a kart and a figure emerging from it. After a moment, a man's voice called out to them, "I come bearing a message from President Vanellope!"

The twins glanced back at Turbo, who grimaced and relented with a nod. They stepped away and toward the voice with Turbo creeping along behind them.

The elder guard who had occasionally stood watch outside their door in the palace was just stepping out of one of the standard karts used by the Sugar Rush guard. He looked toward the twins with a solid expression, straightening himself up and stepping forward to meet them. Turbo crept out from behind his comrades, his head rising up on its long neck to examine the man. The guard gave a faint nod to each of them in turn. As always, he seemed remarkably unperturbed by the cybug and regarded them all evenly. "Miss Vanellope requests to know if it is still your intent to participate in the roster race in two days."

Turbo's face flushed as his brows knit together. "Damn straight I'm participating," he growled, "why wouldn't I be?"

The man gave Turbo an even gaze, the sort of stoic, nonjudgmental look ever-present on the faces of servants and guards. "Miss Vanellope expressed concern over your ability to race."

Turbo huffed, raising himself up a bit more. "I can race just fine! You tell that glitch I'll be there bright and early Thursday!"

The guard nodded solemnly. "I will relay your message, sir." He offered a small bow, which prompted a surprised smile from the twins and a rather startled reaction from Turbo himself, then he turned and returned to his kart.

Turbo swallowed, taking a small step forward past the twins. "Hey," he said. The guard glanced back. "...you're name's Werther, isn't it?"

A smile tipped up the man's mustache as he turned back toward them. "Yes, sir."

Turbo glanced aside a little, grimacing. "Ah, I...remember you. I couldn't think of your name back at the palace, but you were...always one of my best."

A look of genuine pride crossed the man's face and he bowed his head lightly. "Thank you, sir." He turned again, then hesitated, looking back at Turbo once more. "Is there...anything I could do for you, sir?"

The twins blinked, glancing at Turbo. He in turn was staring at Werther, rather taken aback. "W-what's that?"

"Just asking if there's anything I could do for you, sir."

"You...don't take orders from me any more, Werther."

"Yes, I know, sir. However, if you should have a request that doesn't conflict with the president's orders, I believe I could make an exception."

Turbo hesitated. He seemed to be blanking, this thought not quite processing in his head. Speaking a bit numbly, he managed the first thing that came to mind, "I could use some spare parts, from the bakery...for repairs. A new wheel, tires. A few tubes of frosting."

Werther bowed again. "As you wish, sir." He turned now and climbed back into his kart with Turbo watching closely, still rather startled by the revelation that someone was still willing to take orders from him.

* * *

Werther returned shortly thereafter with a trunkful of supplies for the twins to use in repairing Turbo's kart. Ted and Ned excitedly collected the items and immediately set to work on their project, chattering with one another eagerly. Turbo meanwhile was still trying to make sense of Werther's behavior and regarded the man with a sort of mild suspicion as he handed over the last of the supplies to the twins and gave his former-king an expectant smile.

"Anything else, sir?"

Turbo lowered his head a little, wringing his claws with a faint ticking sound. "You do realize I'm not King Candy, right?"

"You share his code, and his avatar," Werther said evenly.

"Okay, but...still, King Candy was never the rightful ruler here_," _Turbo insisted with a toothy grimace. "I was lying."

Werther paused, glancing at the twins quietly. Ted was leaning over the dash, removing the old broken steering wheel and replacing it with the new one while Ned crouched at the kart's front, using frosting to repair the crumbled hood. "Yes, sir," the guard mused, "but...I pledged allegiance to you, to King Candy. I am bound to you, so long as you still bear King Candy's code. Although Vanellope's orders will always take priority." He turned to look back at Turbo solemnly. "I am still willing, and in fact...bound, to do what I may to protect you from harm as much as possible. You are still my king."

Turbo regarded Werther quietly, his heartbeat fast and heavy in his chest. He lowered his eyes, his mind racing. Half of him was thrilled, was overwhelmed with pride and pleasure at the thought of having someone still loyal to him, to the king, but the other half of him felt guilty and cruel and wanted to rip out whatever coding would ever bind anyone to him under such false pretenses.

Werther smiled to himself, glancing at his feet. "I am not the only member of the game with this coding, sir. I believe you will find Sour Bill in the same situation as myself."

Turbo perked, tipping up his chin. "R-really?"

Werther smiled quietly under his mustache. "For some of us, an oath of loyalty is a true bond of code. Even the reset could not undo that."

Turbo lowered his eyes again, flushed faintly.

Werther smiled at him warmly, then took a breath, bowing stiffly. "Good luck in the race tomorrow, sir."

Turbo glanced up at him, swallowing. "T-thanks, Werther..."

The guard bobbed his head in an extra bow and turned, striding away evenly. Turbo watched him go, scratching his claws lightly on the back of his other hand. He wasn't sure quite what to do with this information, but it was encouraging, in some ways. With a shifting of his body, he lay himself down on the ground, folding his legs in against him and his arms in front of him.

"Sour Bill," he mused thoughtfully. "Must be bugging you like hell to know you're bound to me..."

* * *

It was only a few hours until the roster race.

Turbo sighed deeply, resting his chin on the ground at the edge of the hot chocolate spring. He had sunk himself down in the spring in the cave opposite his own hiding spot and was breathing in and out slowly. It had been strange to go from feeling nothing but a numbness in his body to actually feeling some amount of strain and pain, but he had crashed himself enough times to dent his armor, so he supposed it wasn't too surprising that he'd finally felt something in his nerves. It had been another full afternoon and late into the evening training, the last strain of training, with the twins, and if not for Ted's yelling at him, he would have continued practicing through the night without them again. But Ted insisted he give it a rest, at least if nothing else so he could do some repairs on the kart, and Turbo reluctantly agreed, pacing around anxiously on the track for a while before he slunk off to the hot spring, muttering curses under his breath.

He wouldn't be likely to admit it, but now that he'd settled in, he was thankful that Ted had kicked him off the track. He'd never be awake enough for the actual roster had he continued training. And the warmth of the pool though was exactly what he needed...

"There you are!"

Turbo opened his eyes abruptly. Ned was just stepping into the cave with a smile, his hands clasped behind his back. Turbo sighed faintly, not moving. "Hullo, Ned..."

Ned glanced around the cave thoughtfully. It was small and plain, a dark cocoa color, empty but for the pool of warm chocolate and the steam rising off of it. "We wondered where you ran off to...and then I remembered this spring you mentioned. This is where you were the day you turned to King Candy, huh?"

"I don't 'turn' to-" Turbo sighed. "What did you want, Ned?"

Ned stepped over to Turbo, hunkering down in front of him and letting out a breath. "Are you ready for the race?"

Turbo's initial instinct was to snap 'yes!' at him, but he clenched his teeth and took reign of his impulses. "As ready as I can be, I guess."

Ned smiled quietly, reaching out and patting Turbo's forehead gently. "I thought you did really well today."

Turbo blushed faintly and tipped his head to the side. "Ned," he muttered, "don't."

"I mean it," Ned murmured, "you know racing's in your code...That body might dull your reactions some, but it can't change what you are inside." He pushed himself up on his heels, brushing his jumpsuit off with his hands and stepping by Turbo to the pool's edge. Turbo lifted his head and glanced after him, considering. "You can feel this, even with your armor? Does it feel nice?"

Turbo watched as Ned knelt down and touched the surface of the chocolate with his fingers. "Mm, I used to have a bath at the palace...pumped this stuff right in. It's not quite the same in this body, but it does feel good."

Ned smirked a little, glancing back at him. "And it gets under your armor, right? Like in your 'sweet spot'?"

Turbo scowled faintly. "Don't give it a name, idiot. ...but yeah."

Ned grinned, glancing back at the chocolate. He swirled his fingers around in the liquid a moment before he stood, clambering hurriedly down into the spring with quite a bit of splashing. Turbo perked, lifting his head and looking after him. "A-ah, Ned, usually people take their clothes...off...well...nevermind." He sighed with a faint smile as Ned dropped down to his chin in the chocolate, his cheeks flushed with the heat of the pool.

"This does feel good, it's so warm!"

"It's a hot chocolate spring, dumbass." Turbo tilted his head with a sarcastic smirk. "What were you expecting?" Turbo turned toward him, hoisting himself up and stepping out further into the pool to let himself sink down into the chocolate as he approached the other racer.

"When you turn back to Turbo-"

"If I turn back."

"_When_ you turn back, we should come back here so you can really enjoy it." Ned smiled at him, sinking down to his chin again. "And if you keep calling me names I'll start using 'King Turbug' again."

Turbo smirked and reached out toward him, shoving his open palm against Ned's helmet and pushing him back. "Well _when_ I turn back into Turbo, you won't be able to use that nickname anymore, will you?"

"Ah no," Ned said, tilting his head with a playful grin, "you'll always be King Turbug to us."

Turbo sneered, leaning forward quickly and hooking his claws under Ned's helmet, tugging it off easily and tossing it aside. Ned swiftly lifted his hands to cover his head, ducking away as Turbo reached for him. Once he'd gotten a little space between himself and the bug, he quickly shoved both hands into the chocolate and splashed an armful of the stuff at Turbo's face. Turbo perked, his face glitching over to Turbo's and back as he was splattered with hot chocolate. "You little bastard...!" He sputtered out a mouthful of chocolate and quickly reached out again, clamping his claws on top of Ned's head and shoving the racer down into the pool. "Ha!"

After a bit of flailing, Ned burst out of the chocolate, sputtering out a laugh. "King Turbug!" He swept the chocolate from his eyes with one hand and quickly splashed another armful of at Turbo. It only took a moment before the cybug lunged toward him with a grin.

* * *

"Hey you guys, that guard Werther just stopped by to say we've got an hour til..."

Ted let his voice drop off as he stepped into the chocolate spring cave. He smiled to himself, shrugging with a faint laugh at the sight of Turbo curled up at the edge of the pool with Ned beside him, an arm and one of his legs protectively encircling the other racer, both of them fast asleep. And covered in chocolate.

Ted stepped over to the two quietly, hunkering down beside them and quietly reaching down to touch both their foreheads with his palms. "You two," he murmured with a smile. He brushed at Ned's hair lightly, glancing around the little cave for his helmet. Eventually he spied it floating in the chocolate pool a little ways off. He smirked. "Nice job, Turbs," he muttered, brushing his thumb on Turbo's forehead gently. The skin flickered grey momentarily and Ted gazed down at him, breathing out a little sigh. "I really hope this works..."

After a moment, Turbo flinched slightly, his brows knitting together as he opened his eyes to squint up at Ted. "Mm...what time is it...?"

"Got about an hour til the race," Ted said, smiling. "You ready?"

Turbo stretched his legs out slightly, perking when Ned made a small sound of surprise beside him. The cybug quickly tilted his head to look at the twin, whom he'd inadvertently squished against him as he was flexing his legs. He released Ned quickly and tried to push himself away when Ned took hold of his leg, tugging him to stay put. "S-sorry," he muttered.

Ned only rolled onto his back and glanced at both of them upsidedown, holding onto Turbo's leg gently. "I'm...really chocolatey."

"Me too," Turbo muttered, looking toward Ted again. "How's the kart?"

"All ready to go," Ted said, leaning his chin into his palm with a grin.

Turbo took a breath and nodded. "Me too."


	15. Chapter Fourteen - Race

_Author Notes: I swore to myself I would never let more than a week pass between updates, so HERE I AM. Pardon my cutting out the majority of the race scene. I had no idea what I was doing. Um. You can use your imaginations. T_T If I was writing something to actually polish or try to publish, I would obviously go and do my research and talk to people who race and so on, BUT this is fanfiction. So, sorry. I would rather it not be in there than be in there and not be good. I just knew I couldn't convey the energy and excitement of a race well enough. _

_But ah, hope you enjoy this chapter! It's all been leading up to here. And as of this chapter, Part One is pretty much nearing its end. Then I have to actually organize Part Two and get going on it. Anyway. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

Chapter Fourteen - Race

"Lean down," Ted said, pointing at the ground with his forefinger.

Turbo was anxious to get moving, shifting from foot-to-foot with agitation, his claws ticking against one another. "What for? Come on, we've got to go-"

"Lean down," Ted said again, smirking.

Turbo glanced in the direction of the palace urgently, then back at the twins standing before him. With a groan, he crept closer to them and craned his neck so his head lowered to their level. "What is it?!"

Ned reached forward and took Turbo's face in his hands, prompting a quick blush and a brief Turbo-faced glitch in the cybug. The racer looked at him solemnly. "You can do this, alright? Don't forget: All you've got to do is get across the finish line before the arcade opens, and then we can race again, the three of us, like the old days."

Turbo grimaced faintly, his face still red. "We don't know if this will work..."

"It'll work," Ted said, reaching over and placing a hand on Turbo's forehead. "Quit your worrying. Just focus on getting across that finish line. You can do it."

Turbo nodded slightly, Ned still holding his face. After a moment, Ned bit his lip and suddenly pulled in close to Turbo, wrapping his arms around his neck and touching his cheek to Turbo's as he squeezed him into a hug. At this, Turbo finally pulled back until Ned came loose and tumbled off. "Alright!" he growled urgently. "Let's go, the race is starting soon!"

Ted and Ned quickly headed for the kart they'd been sharing, and Turbo clambered anxiously onto his own. Ted settled in beside his brother as Ned took over, starting the engine. He glanced over his shoulder at Turbo, leaning over the side of the car as they pulled round to be beside him. "They'll know we're coming, right?"

Turbo glanced back at him briefly, trembling a little with excitement. "She said she would prepare them..."

* * *

Ned and Turbo slowed to a stop near the Royal Raceway start line to the sounds of screaming and chaos among the candy citizens in the stands. The Sugar Rush racers were gaping at them in horror, many scrambling for cover, some jumping into their karts to make an urgent exit. There was absolute pandemonium all around them as Turbo crawled off his kart and onto the track, scowling. "Should have known not to count on that glitch..."

Ted reached out over the side of Ned's kart and punched Turbo lightly in the arm, but the cybug didn't feel it as he slunk around the front of the kart and straightened up to look for Vanellope. The young president's kart was just pulling up to the scene from the direction of the palace. She was waving her arms and trying to cry out to the crowd, but no one could hear her over the panic. Turbo hesitated a moment, shifting from foot-to-foot, before he suddenly went bounding forward, straight through the crowd of racers, toward her. The Sugar Rushers fled from his path in a panic, leaping out of his way as he scrambled over their cars and dove straight for Vanellope.

She looked up swiftly as he landed half on the road and half on the front of her car, craning his neck down to her level and glaring at her sharply. "You call this preparing them?!"

Vanellope stared up at him with a level gaze, obviously frustrated but still in no way intimidated by the cybug hovering over the front of her kart. "Something came up—Ralph!"

Turbo turned abruptly as the wrecker seemed to appear from no where, lunging at him from the sidelines. Turbo darted away, scrambling behind Vanellope's kart—a shield he knew the wrecker would never be willing to compromise to get to him—though Ralph still managed to get ahold of his tail in one of his mammoth hands as the cybug ducked for cover. Turbo hissed loudly as he was tugged on, digging his claws into the track and forcing himself down down behind the kart. A series of curses ran through his head as he damned his weakness once again. He was abundantly aware that he was longer any match for Ralph, particularly not as shaken and anxious as he was about his current situation.

"Let him go!" Vanellope snapped urgently, her fists clenched. "Ralph, c'mon!"

Ralph shot her a quick hot look, but he reluctantly released the cybug's tail and Turbo quickly tugged himself fully behind the kart, only peeking his head up enough to stare at the wrecker with a fiery glare. Vanellope pressed her palms to her forehead for a moment in aggravation, turning as Sour Bill came shuffling toward her with a microphone in hand. Turbo's eyes flickered toward the candy swiftly, and when he saw Sour Bill his glare softened somewhat and he raised himself up a bit from the other side of the kart, watching. Sour Bill himself slowed and eventually stopped at the sight of Turbo, watching him anxiously from a few feet away and finding himself unable to come any closer. Frustrated, Vanellope jumped out of her kart and snatched the microphone from her assistant, speaking in a yell that echoed and screeched in the speakers over the racetrack:

"Everyone, remain calm! You are in no danger! Just remain calm!"

The panic subsided a little as the candy people flinched and the racers grabbed at their ears. Turbo glanced up at the stands. Now that people had stopped screaming and started staring, he suddenly felt rather uncomfortably in the spotlight, and he lowered his head again and pulled his legs in close against him. Vanellope sighed, glancing at him, then past him and the other racers at the twins, standing side-by-side, watching her with timid eyes.

"Well," Vanellope sighed into the mic, her voice echoing on the speakers above, "I've got a funny story..." She trailed off, took a deep breath, then spoke quickly, "King Candy is going to be competing in the random roster race today!"

There was a moment of silence before the crowd erupted in pandemonium again. Turbo dug his claws further into the track, his heart pounding. Suddenly all the practicing, all the work and effort seemed terribly wasted. He wished he had never done any of it, had just given up, yet again. It would have been better to stay hidden, to stay with the twins, to give up this hope of racing again. He realized that Vanellope was looking at him with an almost pitying expression and he quickly brought himself up a little, trying to look confident once again. Casting his eyes over the crowd, he caught Ralph's gaze as well, two dark angry eyes still watching him intensely, and he straightened up as much as a cybug could and glared back at him coldly.

It took a good ten minutes for the crowd to be calmed and Vanellope to explain in the sparest of details what was happening. She repeatedly stressed the safety of the candy citizens and the fact that this was an experiment and was not expected to be a daily activity and that King Candy (she kept calling him that, he thought bitterly, even though they all_ knew_ he was Turbo) could be counted on not to attack or harm any of the other racers. People were still up in arms, but the eventual clincher was Vanellope's reminder that the reality of the situation was that the arcade was soon to open, she was president, and this race was going to happen whether they wanted it to or not.

So at the end of all the shouting, and using an extra coin of her own, Vanellope registered King Candy in the race.

She stepped up to him and he quickly raised his neck to its full length, gaining as much height on her as he could. She frowned at him deeply and pointed at the ground, much the same way Ted had. But he didn't submit to her. "Listen," she hissed up at him, her voice barely audible over the sounds of the crowd still—no longer screaming, but speaking in panicky tones, "you race fair and you race safe. Don't try any of that crap you used to pull as King Candy, okay? And I doubt you could do it anyway, but make sure you _don't_ place. Just stay in back and try and cross the finish line before the quarter alert." She glanced at the other racers, who were shooting Turbo dirty looks as they got into their cars, then she turned back to him, huffing out a breath. "Good luck," she said quickly and moved away from him, returning to her own car and jumping in. Ralph continued to watch Turbo with suspicion, but he said nothing, knowing Vanellope would shush him the moment he opened his mouth. He walked alongside the edge of the track as she moved to take her place in the starting line, still looking back over his shoulder at the cybug. He wouldn't be able to stay for the whole race, Turbo thought dryly, not if he wanted to get back to his own game in time for the arcade to open. Must be killing him, knowing he's got to leave her here with me...heh. In the midst of his own anxiety, he couldn't help but feel mildly amused by the wrecker's discomfort.

The twins had pushed Turbo's car to its starting place at the back of the pack and he looked toward them gratefully as he approached. They both watched as he climbed onto the somewhat worse-for-wear salmon-colored kart and checked to make sure all his footholds were secure and he could reach everything he needed to. "Don't be nervous," Ned said gently, "You can do this, Turbo. You're the greatest racer ever, the cybug code can't change that."

Turbo looked toward Ned quickly, blushing faintly, but he managed a shaky nod. The twin smiled at him. From his side, Ted grinned. "Agreed, you can do this. Just don't forget who you are." He hesitated a moment before suddenly leaning in, planting a kiss on King Candy's red nose before hopping back to stand with his brother, grinning. "Better be the last chance I get to kiss that ugly nose of yours, King Turbug! Good luck!"

Turbo flushed deeply, but his initial instinct to yell at Ted was stayed by the catch in his throat that didn't seem to be giving him any breath. He watched with a helpless red-faced glare as the twins saluted, then slipped quickly off the track and onto the sidelines. Turbo turned his eyes round to the front quickly. He clutched the wheel in his claws, feeling the pedals with his forefeet. All he had to do was finish the race, just keep a steady pace and make it all the way through the track to cross the finish line. He knew this track better than anyone, he could do this...He perked as one of the racers ahead of him glanced back with a sharp glare before turning back around. He clenched his claws tighter on the wheel.

Vanellope pulled her goggles over her eyes as the countdown began. She had a feeling this was all going to end very badly, but she still couldn't regret her decision.

* * *

How was this even possible? Turbo clutched the wheel, his body pressed down against the shambles of a kart, his eyes sharp on the road ahead of him. There were _three_ karts in front of him. _Only three._ Fourth place! A cybug barely clutching onto a kart and he was in fourth place! The red flicker of a glitch rippled through his face at the thrill of it. Oh, racing was in his code, alright. Ned had been right, the cybug virus couldn't replace what was programmed into his core.

Albeit, it was certainly a lot more difficult than it ever had been, but he was holding his own. He was doing better than he ever expected after three days of crashing and barely scraping around Chocolate Twist. But now the adrenaline of the race itself was pushing him forward, the teeth-gritting desire for real competition driving him on.

Vanellope was leading the pack ahead of him, with Gloyd and Snowanna close behind. There was a length of space between himself and the three leading the charge, and he knew would be difficult space to make up, impossible maybe. But he was in fourth place, and for a cybug he was almost satisfied with that! He'd actually have to pull back to keep from placing among the random roster choices at the end of the race!

He perked at the sound of another engine bearing down on him. He had barely turned to see Rancis when the other racer suddenly careened into the side of his kart, sending Turbo spinning. This was the difficult part. He tried desperately take control of the wheel, but it was hard to compensate with his new strength. There were no surprises on Royal Raceway, he'd run the race a thousand times, so he hadn't had to react suddenly until now. And for good reason, because he scrambled to react with the proper degree of correction and was failing miserably. He grossly over-corrected and ended up having to hit the breaks to keep himself from veering off the track. He barely was able to glance at Rancis as he sped past, Taffyta close behind him. Sixth place! Just like that! He was just managing to get his speed back up when the rest of the pack bore down on him. Jubileena clipped him on his left as she sped by with the rest of the crowd. Turbo's kart skidded for the wall and he was forced to hit the breaks again before he crashed. The kart still scruffed a bit roughly with the track's outer wall, giving the cybug a jolt as he clutched low to the body of the kart. He took a quavering breath, looking after the other Sugar Rush racers with wide, wounded eyes. Last place. That didn't take long. Dammit. He should have seen them coming, should have anticipated that they would come at him. He grunted, shifting himself a little and pressing down on the accelerator again gently. Last place, he reminded himself, crestfallen, all he had to do was get across the finish line...What was losing just this once if he got his body back, right...?

Turbo perked when he heard more engines coming from behind him. He was certain he'd seen all the Sugar Rush racers pass him, who else would be on the track? He looked back as he pulled out into the center of the road, blinking as two blue-clad racers, grinning from two hideously-crafted karts, came into sight around the bend. They slowed as they approached him and Ted leaned over the side of his kart with a quick wave. "Come on!" he shouted, "You can't let them push you around like that!"

Turbo blinked at him, hesitating only a moment before he suddenly turned his face back to front, hitting the gas and hitting the road again with toothy grin in his flushed face.

* * *

Turbo hit the breaks as he crossed the finish line. His wheels screeched and the kart skidded to a stop near the grandstands. His mind was racing. How? How was it even possible? With the twins acting as his convoy, he had made his way one-by-one past those brats, dodging their cheap shots and grinning in triumph as he left them far behind him. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, he had shot across the finish line with no one but the glitch herself ahead of him. _Second place_. He'd like to see any of them manage that in this body!

He scrambled off the kart in a flurry, a red wave of static streaking through his cybug body. Up ahead, Vanellope had also pulled over and was jumping free of her own kart, rushing toward him with a kind of panic in her eyes. The twins pulled over behind Turbo, watching him with wide hopeful eyes as the glitch ran through him.

Turbo held out his hands out in front of himself, his breath quick and shallow, watching as those trembling claws flickered and changed with the reset of the character. Please, he begged in his head, just get me back to something that can drive, King Candy or Turbo, I don't even care, just so I can race again.

Red sparks rippled on his form, his pixels separating and reorganizing themselves in blurry shimmers. After a moment of uncertainty, the cybug claws flickered away, leaving behind two fleshy-colored hands. He clenched and unclenched them slowly, gazing down at himself and the royal attire he had worn these past many years. King Candy, he thought, breathing shallowly, alright, I can work with this...But as soon as he had the thought, his image flickered again. The pixels of flesh separated and shifted, binding together again with a tremble. Turbo blinked in astonishment as the last of the red glitch ran through him and faded. He was looking down at two grey hands, and below them a white jumpsuit with red striping. In a panic, he reached up and clutched at his head: his helmet! His old _helmet_! He spun toward the twins. They were grinning at him like eager children, still gripping the wheels of their karts with white knuckles. Somewhere in the background, Vanellope shouted something at him, but he couldn't hear her over the blood pounding in his ears.

He was Turbo. Who was he kidding? He didn't want to be King Candy! After all this time, _he was Turbo again_!

Without a thought, he broke his stare with the twins and rushed back to his kart. Vanellope was just getting to him when he hit the gas and screeched past her, the twins following in hot pursuit.

"Hey!" she screamed after them, waving her arms. "What do you think you're doing?!"

But they had already gone too far, engines roaring, tearing down the track and out of sight. Vanellope turned quickly as the other racers began to cross the finish line, many of them immediately jumping from the carts and pulling off their helmets, yelling complaints about the twins and about the cybug and the unfairness of the race and any other number of things Vanellope all but tuned out. She turned to look to the grandstands, where panic had once more taken over, and then to the royal box, where Sour Bill was gazing down at her with a wide-eyed frown.

Just as she thought, shifting her eyes toward the screen that displayed the roster race winners. Disaster.


	16. Chapter Fifteen - Consequences

_ Author Notes: A friend brought it to my attention that I was mistaken on the timing of the roster race as it happens in the movie. I have a terrible memory, so this is no surprise! (Obviously a lot of the details in this fic are vague/off because of that.) In any case, I will be going back to edit previous chapters and fix the references to time, but for the time being I'm just going to move forward under the assumption that there's a significantly larger gap of time between when the roster race ends and when the arcade opens._

_The next chapter is technically the last one, to be followed by an epilogue and a little special extra chapter. So, I hope you'll enjoy the wrap-up and I'm already getting geared up for part two! Thank you always for reading and for all your feedback and support._

* * *

Chapter Fifteen - Consequences

Turbo, as usual, had no mind for the consequences of his actions.

He tore down Royal Raceway, clutching the wheel of his ragged kart, thinking only of how thrilling it was to be back on the track, fully aware and engaged in the race. King Candy had been a fine enough avatar, but nothing could compare to being behind the wheel in his own familiar flesh. The wind in his face brought with it a rush of memories. The twins at his back, the open road ahead. He grinned his broad yellow teeth and leaned forward. This 'cybug' kart was front-heavy and a hell of a hard time to steer...But he would get himself a new kart, something suited just to him, made with his own hands. He would race again, be the best again, as it was meant to be, as he always intended it would be. He would get back everything he'd lost.

Oh it was good to be Turbo again...It was good to be him.

* * *

The three Turbo Time racers came screeching back across the finish line almost as a unit, although Turbo admittedly led the charge. He was still grinning and nearly laughing, and the twins seemed as pleased as he was as they pulled up behind him.

The rest of Sugar Rush, however, was another story. The candy citizens were in a panic and the racers were standing together near the sidelines, shooting the three Turbo Time characters dark, hateful and occasionally fearful gazes. Vanellope was the only one to rush forward to meet them, never hesitating a moment as she reached out and grabbed hold of the sleeve of Turbo's jumpsuit as he climbed out of his car. "What did you think you were doing?!"

Turbo's eyes flashed and he tugged free from her immediately, his grin turning to a toothy growl as he did his best to gain his height on her, although it was quite a change being back in Turbo's body after the time spent in the cybug form. "What did it look like, glitch?!"

"You weren't supposed to place!" Vanellope shouted at him. "All you had to do was cross the finish line at the end of the race, you should have hung back!"

Turbo scoffed, adjusting his helmet. "Hey, what can I say? I'm just that good." The twins were stepping up behind him now, each with his hands in his pockets. They seemed a bit less confident than Turbo though and hung back a few feet behind him, looking at Vanellope with the anxious expressions of two children who have been caught misbehaving. She shot them a brief disappointed glare before looking back at Turbo.

"Look, jerkface, you really can't figure this out on your own?! You placed in the random roster race, that means you generated on the roster!"

Turbo's expression fell. "That's impossible," he muttered, though a certain grim clarity was slowly coming over his features. "I'm not...part of this game."

"Well King Candy is!" Vanellope snapped, pointing to the screen over the track which was displaying those characters appearing in the random roster for the day. King Candy was listed among them, just after her own name.

Turbo blinked at the screen, his grey hands fumbling for his pockets."I...didn't think of that."

"Yeah, not thinking! Seems like a pattern with you!" Turbo shot her a glare but it wavered when it met the child's own fiery expression. "Got any ideas of how to fix this, huh?"

Turbo clenched his teeth, casting his eyes around the ground quickly. King Candy had generated on the roster. By all accounts, he should have taken King Candy's form when the reset occurred, it was what he'd anticipated. If the game was still recognizing him as King Candy, how could his avatar have generated as Turbo? As Turbo, the greatest racer ever...the greatest racer this arcade had ever known...

In spite of any attempt to focus on the issue at hand, his thoughts were scattered, still recalling the adrenaline of the race and the thrill of being back in his own body. He was only vaguely aware of the panic around him or the urgency of the issue at hand, every thought in his head being replaced by the desire to get back on the track and back in a race.

"Hey!" Vanellope shouted suddenly. He lifted his yellow eyes back to her, startled. "King Candy has to race today, can you make that happen?!"

Turbo regarded her reluctantly, biting at the inside of his lip. He flinched slightly at a red flicker of pixels that sparked from his hand as he tucked it fully into his pocket. Vanellope noticed the glitch as well and looked back up at him expectantly. "I'd have to see my code..."

Vanellope stared back at him for a moment before she turned sharply to return to her kart. "Meet me at the vault then, and hurry it up! We haven't got all day here, jerkface!"

Turbo watched, feeling angry and frustrated and undermined, but he had no choice but to submit to her demand. As long as he was still glitching, Sugar Rush's fate was his own. He couldn't risk a roster character missing when arcade hours opened. He turned back toward the twins, who were watching him with worried eyes.

"We messed this up," Ned murmured as Turbo past them.

"You were trying to help me," Turbo muttered, climbing into his awkward shambles of a kart, more fit for a cybug than the racer himself.

Ted blinked, in no way expecting such an honest admission from the other racer. An insult or a sarcastic agreement was more befitting him. "Turbo, we—"

Both twins flinched as Turbo abruptly started his engine and took off after Vanellope for the palace. They helplessly watched him go, feeling guilty and in some ways wishing Vanellope had scolded them as well. Ned reached over and brushed the back of his hand against Ted's lightly. Ted hesitated before he quietly gripped the proffered hand, glancing up at the grandstands, and the candy citizens, many of whom had turned their attention on the twins now that the president and the object of their fears had left.

"I warned Vanellope about you."

Ned perked, and turned toward the Sugar Rush racers standing near the sidelines. Ted glanced over as well, his brows low over his eyes. Taffyta regarded them accusingly. "No one from your game should be allowed to race here...ever."

* * *

Turbo floated next to Vanellope in the code vault, examining the code box in front of him: King Candy's code, looking back to normal and as good as it ever had. "This is impossible," he muttered. "If King Candy's code is still the primary one, then why am I Turbo? It looks the same way it did when I was King Candy!"

Vanellope looked from Turbo to the code, though she understood very little of it. "You're glitching, right?" Vanellope mused thoughtfully, sucking on one of the licorice strings that hung from her hood. "'When you...first started that, you were going from one avatar to the other." Vanellope hesitated, the licorice still in her mouth. She glanced up at him and was relieved that he was still looking at the code instead of at her. The memory was still a bit raw. "Can you still do that?"

Turbo grimaced, removing his eyes from the code to look down at one of his grey palms. He focused all the attention he could on it, trying to recall what he had done the day he had force-glitched his face when practicing in the cave. Clenching his teeth, he felt a ripple of static rush through him and suddenly the palm flickered to the pink fleshy color of King Candy's hand. He looked up at Vanellope with two brown eyes that quickly flickered back to yellow as Turbo's avatar became dominant again.

She stared at him a moment. "So you can switch," she murmured. "Did you do it before?"

"Once," he mused, "by accident. From the cybug to this form. To Turbo." He was beginning to confuse himself, wondering how he was supposed to identify himself anymore.

"If only you could learn to control it..."

"And I can," he answered sharply. "Now that the cybug virus is gone, I...I'll figure it out."

"Except you haven't really got the time right now." She reached over and grabbed his wrist again. He moved to tug free, but she had already begun dragging him toward the entrance to the vault, propelling herself through the space with one hand and tugging him along with the other. "Have you got any extra copies of King Candy's clothes? Maybe we can just get you to look enough like King Candy that the players won't notice the difference..."

* * *

Lucky for the both of them, Turbo had always kept a couple spare outfits of King Candy's in the event that something like this happened. If he ever lost the king's avatar, he was hoping to use a physical disguise to at least get himself out of the game unnoticed. In addition to his standard clothes, they also found King Candy's racing gear, his goggles, gloves and helmet, and reluctantly Turbo put these on to hide as much of his grey skin as possible.

He stood before a mirror in the palace, feeling foolish and frustrated in these clothes for the first time in years. He had worn King Candy's attire for so long it had become part of him, he'd never thought about it, but seeing the ill-fitted clothing on his own body, with his own yellow eyes looking out at him from beneath King Candy's helmet, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. These weren't his clothes. They were King Candy's. But they weren't Turbo's.

"I look ridiculous," he muttered, pulling the king's goggles down over his eyes. He scowled, tipping his head to the side. He still looked like a badly dressed version of himself. Any attempt to look more like King Candy was virtually impossible.

Vanellope shrugged weakly from where she stood by the door. "You've got nobody to blame but yourself."

Turbo turned toward her, scowling darkly. He pulled the goggles back up onto the helmet, hunching his shoulders as he lowered his hands. "I need a kart."

Vanellope nodded to the door, stepping over and slipping through. He followed her slowly, stalking along and feeling more frustrated by his attire with each step in those little purple shoes. "You'd better behave out there today," she said over her shoulder, striding along as quick as her little legs could take her. He'd been forced to pick up his feet to keep up. "Actually listen to me when I tell you to do something, alright? If you get us unplugged, you're going down with me."

Turbo lifted his eyes to her with a grimace. He had been thrilled to be back in his old form, he had been excited beyond belief to drive again as himself and enjoy the sensation of the craft again. And now he was already anxious and agitated and unable to enjoy the success of all his and the twin's hard work. The twins!

"Ah, w-where are Ted and Ned?" he asked quickly, suddenly realizing he had forgotten them.

Vanellope glanced back at him. "Still on the track, as far as I know. They'll be okay, don't worry about them."

Turbo flushed immediately, snapping, "I'm not worried!"

Vanellope turned her face back round, smirking. He clenched his fists tightly and hissed through his teeth.

* * *

"S-sir!" Werther exclaimed, somewhat startled as he greeted them at the palace's garage.

Turbo looked up at the guard uncomfortably, shifting his weight. Werther blinked and tilted his head as he recognized the inconsistencies in what he first took to be King Candy's appearance. He looked toward Vanellope rather uncertainly, opening the door to the showroom as she nodded at him. "We've prepared the kart for you, Miss Vanellope."

"Thanks, Werther," Vanellope said, stepping through the doorway with Turbo close behind her, his shoulders hunched, wishing he had pockets to shove his hands into. He fumbled uncomfortably with his gloves as the guard followed them in.

The garage was lined with karts, all shapes and sizes and colors. Over the years, King Candy had built plenty of karts, many simply for show or for exploration. But some of them he had driven after hours, always trying to find new ways to improve, to go faster, turn sharper. A few of them resembled, in some ways, his old kart from Turbo Time, but never enough that anyone would recognize it. He glanced around at the lines of karts somewhat nostalgically. It had been a while since he had been down here.

"We decided to keep them all," Vanellope said, looking back at him. "Even if you were a crazy bad guy, you made some really nice karts...We just stuck your old, well, my old car, down here with the rest of them."

Turbo looked toward her as she stepped over to the white, sparkling kart, the one he's driven during arcade hours these past twenty-some years. Turbo found that he was mildly entranced by the kart, and he approached it with a slowness that had Vanellope tapping her foot on the floor. He lay his hand on the hood of the car gently. "I thought I'd never see this kart again..."

Werther smiled quietly beneath his mustache. Vanellope watched Turbo curiously, feeling vaguely touched by the sincerity in his eyes as he gazed at the old kart. "Yeah, well," she muttered, "it _is_ my kart, it's coded into the game, so...it regenerated after the reset."

Turbo's eyes flickered to her quickly, then he nodded, a bit startled from his thoughts, and quickly climbed in, making a special effort to control himself from admiring the interior as he started the engine.

"Just head for the track," Vanellope said, "and try not to get anybody upset before I get there!"

* * *

Admittedly, he was still thrilled to be racing, even under the circumstances, but over the course of arcade hours, he found it was increasingly difficult to even race fairly against the Sugar Rush brats. He was a somewhat of a dirty racer by nature, but he wasn't used to having so many characters deliberately attempt to drive him off the road themselves.

He scraped by in the races, cursing himself for being beaten, particularly by Vanellope, but he laid most of the blame on the rush of thoughts in his head that he was having trouble pinning down. There were a lot of questions left to be answered. And it was impossible to focus on any of them when he was constantly having to keep an eye out for the barrage of attacks being aimed at him by every other racer on the track—sans Vanellope, at least. At first, he couldn't tell for sure if they were just trying to knock him around or actually cause him harm, but by the end of the day he was certain most of them were trying to take him out entirely. Even teaming up to do so. And without the twins around to protect him, he was just barely scraping to get through each race.

Finally, the last race of the day was run. Vanellope was careening across the finish line at Royal Raceway in first place, as per the usual, and Turbo was close behind her. He had just slowed to a stop across the line, letting out a hot breath of frustration, when another car rammed into him from behind, sending him forward, hard, into the dash. He took a moment to recover before spinning to look beyond him. Taffyta was glaring at him from behind the wheel of her own kart.

Turbo was out of his kart in a second, tearing off his helmet and throwing it across the track. "What's your problem?!"

Taffyta jumped out of her car as well, advancing on him. "You're my problem! You shouldn't be on this track, you shouldn't be in this _game_!"

"Cut it out!" Vanellope yelled, stalking over to them with her hands waving above her head. "I don't have time for this now!" Turbo looked at her sharply, his yellow eyes flashing.

"We don't want him racing here," Taffyta said grimly. The other racers crossing the finish line began to yell agreements. Turbo only scowled at them, his yellow eyes glowing faintly. "Why is he here at all?! We thought he was dead!"

Vanellope lowered her hands, facing them all seriously. "I promise I will explain everything as soon as I can," she said loudly. "Give me a little time, okay? He'll be locked up in the palace tonight and he won't be racing with us tomorrow, so just...relax!"

This seemed to satisfy or at least pacify the other racers for the time being. They returned to their cars and one-by-one and drove off across the landscape, still shooting dark looks over their shoulders as they went. Vanellope turned to Turbo sharply, raising her voice to him now that the other racers were gone. "What _is _your problem?!"

Turbo clenched his fists. "They were trying to run me off the track!"

"You were racing like it was life-or-death out there!" Vanellope shouted.

Turbo bunched up his shoulders, leaning over her. "That's how I race!"

Vanellope breathed out through her nose sharply, glaring up at him. "Well I hope you're ready to have more people after your head," she said. "If you hadn't been so intent on winning today, maybe it wouldn't be as bad, but you placed in almost every race which means your face was up there," she motioned toward the sky, "on that big screen where half the arcade can see it. Which, if you can't figure out the rest yourself, means half the arcade has seen that you are very much alive _and_ racing in Sugar Rush."

He blinked at her uncertainly, reaching up to run his hand through his damp hair. "...they're coming here."

"Oh I'll bet they're already on their way, yes." She reached over and grabbed the sleeve of King Candy's tailcoat, tugging him along with her. "We've got a lot of damage control to take care of."

He pulled his arm free from her a bit disorientedly but followed close behind nonetheless, a sickening feeling settling into his stomach. It was tough enough having the Sugar Rush racers up in arms, but the thought of the whole arcade suddenly bearing down on him was beginning to shake his confidence. He suddenly realized how very much he wanted the twins to be there at that moment. In fact, there was nothing he wanted more. Where were they, anyway?

Sour Bill was waiting for Vanellope a little ways along the grandstands. The candy people were still somewhat panicky, watching Turbo and their President with deep apprehension. Sour Bill was the only figure to come toward them rather than flee the other way as they approached the royal box. "Your Majesty!" he called, the most emotional his voice ever seemed—which wasn't much.

"President," Vanellope corrected without skipping a beat, "What's the situation?"

Sour Bill was far more scattered than usual. He looked at Turbo quickly, then back at Vanellope in a bit of a panic. "There's a great many visitors at the palace, Miss Vanellope, I'm afraid they forced their way in."

"Well I'm sure the guards didn't do much to stop them," Vanellope sighed sarcastically.

Sour Bill glanced aside with a bit of discomfort before he lifted his eyes to his president again. "Miss Vanellope, they...ah, they're all looking for him." He nodded toward Turbo faintly and lowered his eyes quickly.

Vanellope frowned, turning back to look at the other racer herself. "This is gonna be all sorts of fun, Turbo, hope you're ready."

Turbo regarded her anxiously before he turned back toward the track, taking a brief look around the grandstands. Where were the twins anyway...?


	17. Chapter Sixteen - Aftermath

Author Notes: In which mob mentality affects a number of people and everyone else needs hugs. This is technically the final chapter—there's an epilogue after this and a little extra chapter, but originally the story ended right here. So...hope you enjoy.

And a special thanks to my good friend Lava for helping me edit this and the last chapter!

* * *

Chapter 16 - Aftermath

"So you helped him to do this?!"

"He's our _family," _Ted shouted.

Ned murmured anxiously, "It wasn't like he was trying to hurt anyone..."

"You couldn't know that!"

The twins had been very nearly backed up against a palace wall by the hoard of intruders from the arcade. It had been years since Ted had been forced to shield his brother from a fight, but already the instinct to start taking shots at the people closing in on him was resurfacing. "Back off," he snapped, his arm across his brother's chest, "this has got nothing to do with any of you!"

* * *

Turbo stalked a few feet behind Vanellope as they approached the noisy crowd. The sound of angry voices was echoing in the palace's main hall, and he knew the moment of truth was drawing near. His heart was pounding. Most of these characters he hadn't seen in ages, not since he had hidden himself away in Sugar Rush, no longer going out for fear of his disguise collapsing in on him, but he remembered their faces, their voices. Of the oldest ones, he remembered the way they had watched him, grown more anxious around him, whispered behind his back about him, as each step he took led him closer and closer to game jumping.

He moved to stuff his hands into his pockets to hide his shaking hands, and realized with frustration that he was still in King Candy's clothing. He suddenly felt quite ashamed and vulnerable, so he drew his trembling hands behind his back and looked up at the lot of them with defensive, yellow eyes. The greatest racer ever, he thought bitterly, they should be happy to see him.

But, no...no one had ever been happy to see him...

There was a sudden scuffle at the far side of the group and Turbo perked at the sound of Ted's voice, raised to a shout and yelling curses as the crowd erupted in noise.

"Hey, hey!" Vanellope called as she stepped up to them, waving her arms above her head. It took a moment for the group to take notice of her, but as they did the word of her arrival spread quickly from figure-to-figure, the voices quieting and figures stepping aside one-by-one until word reached the back of the group, where the last of the characters to hear of her arrival shoved Ted roughly back against the wall as he turned to face the two of them. Ted was still cursing under his breath as his brother grabbed his arm anxiously.

Turbo stared, his eyes wide. He'd never seen this, never seen anything like this. He'd gotten into his share of scuffles with the other members of the arcade in his own day, usually some shoving that didn't amount to anything of any consequence, but Turbo could see from the way Ted was bent that he had been hit, actually hit, by someone else in that crowd. The thought of anyone in the arcade ever hurting the twins had never even occurred to him. The Sugar Rush racers treating them roughly on the track was one thing, but...this...he couldn't begin to process it.

Vanellope faced the assorted mob with a stiff, grim frown, three foot high and looking as authoritative as a general. "You all have got no right to barge in here like this!" she shouted. She was beginning to say more when someone broke from the crowd, a tall figure in a racing uniform whose eyes flashed as he zeroed in on Turbo.

A heavy moment of silence fell. Vanellope looked to the racer with sharp eyes as a restless tension streaked through the hall, all those present watching this figure with anticipation. He huffed out a breath through his nose, clenching his hands into fists. "You're supposed to be dead!"

Turbo stared. That face. That voice. A voice he remembered from years long past. Rex, the only surviving character from Road Blasters, the object of Turbo's hate all those years ago. Turbo's chest was tight. He seemed short of breath. The welling rage of memories, of the day he'd lost control, forced themselves up into his head.

Ted lunged for the racer but Ned clutched at his arm and held him back. Vanellope ordered him to stop as Rex came forward toward them, but he strode right past her with such long strides that neither she or Turbo could much react as he abruptly swung forward and struck the other racer. Turbo stumbled back, almost losing his balance, but adrenaline-fueled anger coursed through him and he immediately lifted his fists to face his attacker.

But when he met Rex's gaze again, the rush of memories was so strong that the strength ran out of him and a deep and shameful fear took its place.

The second blow knocked him to the palace floor just as Ted and Ned rushed to his aid. He tugged an arm over his face defensively as he heard the scuffle of the three colliding. Ted immediately launched into attack, yelling words Turbo had never heard come out of the other racer's mouth before. A few blows were struck, though who was dealing the shots and who was taking them was hard to tell. Even Ned raised his voice to yell in vain for them both to stop. Finally, Vanellope's authoritative voice broke into the fray:

"Cut it out, both of you!"

The hall fell silent. Turbo lowered his arm slowly and looked up at the scene before him. Rex had grabbed Ted by the collar, nearly lifting him off the floor as the other racer clutched at his arm, glaring hotly back at his attacker, blood running from his nose down over his lips. Vanellope had squeezed between them with her hands raised, pushing against them both. Rex let out a breath with an almost amused glance in Turbo's direction. Turbo's eyes flickered from him, feeling shaken and fearful and...and Ned...Ned was right there beside him, standing almost over him, and watching Vanellope with concern. Turbo glanced away quickly, his breath coming short. He was only vaguely aware of the pain in his jaw.

"This is _my_ game," Vanellope shouted, "_my_ kingdom, _my _castle! I want everybody who doesn't belong here out—now!" The crowd shifted a bit with discomfort, various figures looking at one another.

Vanellope shot the group a frustrated glare. "To answer all your questions at once," Vanellope continued, her anger-cracking voice echoing in the hall, "yes, Turbo is alive and he's here. Obviously. Yes, he was racing today. And yes he is going to stay here in Sugar Rush. Got it?!"

There was a moment of silence before the hall erupted in voices again. Turbo was shaking still. He tugged off one of his gloves and brushed his hand against his lip when he felt the warmth of blood there. It was running messily down his chin, and his hand trembled when he looked at the stain on the back of it. What did they want to do to him? What was their goal in coming here? Why was he so damn afraid of these people he used to brag to? He looked toward Ted, who was still trying to tug away from Rex to no avail. W...why were they after the twins...?

Ned knelt down slowly beside him, looking down at Turbo with concern. Turbo looked up at him anxiously, then away again, his heart pounding.

Suddenly, Vanellope's voice broke through the sound again, "He's not leaving, okay?! You can shout all you want about that one, but he's a glitch now and he can't leave Sugar Rush!"

The crowd fell silent. Turbo looked up quickly in shame.

"A glitch?!" Rex suddenly blurted, nearly breaking into laughter. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

Vanellope shot him a hot stare. Ted took a breath and shoved away from Rex roughly, stumbling back a little as he got his footing. "Get the hell out, Rex!"

Before they had a chance to break into an uproar again, Vanellope shouted once more, "I want everyone out _right now_!" She had just spied Ralph and Felix running into the hall, and as the crowd began to break into chaos again, Ralph quickly took control of the situation, repeating Vanellope's words and moving behind the crowd to push them toward the exit. They began to go, angrily and with great reluctance, many of them calling things back at Vanellope.

Rex sneered, shifting his gaze from the little girl back to Turbo and then to Ted. He smirked, opening his mouth to say something, then closing his eyes with a light laugh and a shake of his head. "Pathetic, as always," he muttered as he turned and strode away after the crowd. Ted watched him go, trembling slightly, his eyes sharp. When all backs had been turned, he hunched slightly and ran his arm under his bleeding nose, flinching.

Felix stopped a little ways off from the others, catching his breath as he watched Ralph move the crowd to the exit, then he turned back to Vanellope and the other three. His expression was timid and apologetic as he approached them quietly. "Came as quick as we could, Miss Vanellope. We had an after hours player...my land, I didn't...expect this though."

Vanellope nodded a bit shakily, swallowing. Her authoritative front was slipping away.

Felix turned toward the twins, giving Ted an especially apologetic look before he turned his attention on Turbo.

Turbo's heart was still pounding and he was in no mood for reunions, with Felix or with anyone else. He couldn't collect his thoughts or emotions. He was terrified and shaken and he suddenly felt very small in his own body and all he wanted was to get away from everyone and get by himself to think. He lifted his gaze weakly, his left eye even darker than usual and his lip bloody and swollen. "Fix-It," he muttered, spitting blood on the floor.

"It's been a while," Felix murmured gently. "A-are you hurt?" He raised his golden hammer hopefully, offering a meek smile.

Turbo looked up at him still grimly, then he ran his arm across his chin, wiping the blood off onto King Candy's violet sleeve. "I'm fine."

Felix' shoulders fell a little, and he lowered his hammer, nodding. He lifted his eyes to Ted as he stood, but the twin shook his head faintly, one sleeve of his jumpsuit pressed under his nose to stop the bleeding. Ned brushed his hand on Ted's arm a bit nervously. Felix sighed as he turned and touched Vanellope's shoulder with one hand. "I'm sorry," he murmured helplessly, then he turned and hurried off after Ralph and the others.

After a moment, the sounds of the crowd faded away and the hall fell into silence. Turbo could hear nothing but the blood pounding in his ears. He felt like a shadow of himself, weak and broken, damaged beyond repair. And he felt like everyone who had seen him now could tell.

He looked up at Vanellope silently as she continued to stare at the far end of the hall. All those years, he had thought absolutely nothing of her, had thought she was weak and pathetic and useless, and in the end it was she who stood up for him when the rest of the arcade came after him. He didn't know what to think of it, what to make of it, but the guilt on his heart seemed heavier than ever. As he looked at her now, he realized suddenly that she was trembling, very slightly, though whether from fear or anger it was hard to tell. Ted was trembling too, now that he looked at him. Trembling and bleeding, beaten and bruised. Why...? Why would they do this for him? What about him was worth feeling anger or fear over?

They both turned toward him almost in unison and he had to turn away quickly, unable to meet their eyes. He realized a little lethargically that Ned's hand had been on his shoulder, gripping it gently, for a little while now.

"Are you okay?" Ted asked urgently.

Turbo nodded, one firm nod, but didn't look up at the other racer. He wanted to ask Ted the same thing. But he couldn't seem to get the words out.

Vanellope glanced up at Ted, her hard expression softening, then she looked back to Ned and Turbo. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I was afraid this would happen."

"It's my own fault," Turbo muttered.

"Well, yeah," Vanellope admitted, grimacing. "But still."

Turbo felt Ned's hand loosen and lift from his shoulder, then Ned himself rose up and offered the hand to help him up. Turbo glanced at it a little reluctantly, then slowly took the hand and let Ned draw him to his feet. For Ned it was a truly unusual moment. In all the time they had been together, Turbo had never accepted help to stand. Ned's hand had been swatted away on numerous occasions. But now...

Turbo kept his chin down, hiding his face from the twins, who were looking down on him, but Vanellope, who was looking up, could see the bitter fear etched there. He could tell she was concerned and that made him sick. Just what he needed! More people he had wronged feeling concerned for him.

Vanellope turned to look up at the twins. "You should stay here at the palace tonight. All three of you. There's going to be a lot of...ah...sorting out to be done. I'd just...feel better if I knew you all were safe here."

Ned nodded quietly. "Thank you."

"Yeah," she said quickly, turning, taking a deep breath. "Your room should be ready to go...You all can fit in there, right?"

* * *

"I hate to do this, but I've still got to leave a guard at the door. At least until this stuff with Turbo gets sorted out. And this room only has one bed, but it's a big one. Is that okay? If you need anything, just knock and the guard should respond to you. If it's an emergency, you can ask for me. Otherwise, have a good night, and, ah...well, just, goodnight."

Vanellope bowed her head lightly to the twins as she stepped out of the room and quietly closed the door behind her. They watched her go, feeling a bit sad themselves still, and sorry that they put her to any sort of trouble. Turbo, however, hadn't paid any mind to Vanellope—or the twins, for that matter—since they'd entered the room. He had relented, listlessly, while Vanellope had a couple of the guards patch them up with candy bandages and gauze. But since he'd gotten up from the floor, he'd seemed disconnected, weary, lost. When the door had been opened, he'd simply crossed the room and collapsed headfirst onto the bed, where he lay now, looking defeated and rather pathetic and not caring about who saw, which said quite a bit.

The twins stepped over to him slowly, each taking a seat on either side of him. "So," Ned murmured.

Ted flinched a little as he got comfortable, his nose bandaged and his hand across his bruised ribs. "That was exciting."

Turbo grunted something into the bed that neither of the twins could understand.

Ned frowned. "Come on, Turbo, cheer up. At least you've got your body back."

Turbo rolled slowly onto one side and lay there, looking dull. "This whole thing has been a disaster..."

"Ohh," Ted mused, "it's not that bad...You'll be able to race again at some point. Maybe not with the Sugar Rush racers, but with us, after hours."

"Yeah, maybe," Turbo muttered, but he knew quite well the arcade citizens and the Sugar Rush racers would be pushing quite hard to convince Vanellope to keep him off the track altogether. And the twins as well, most likely. They'd want him locked up for sure, not just loafing around in a palace bedroom, but really locked up, like a prisoner...what he deserved... and the twins too?

He closed his eyes tightly, clearing his throat a little shakily before speaking, very quietly, "I'm so sorry."

They both looked down at him, then exchanged a glance quietly before returning their eyes to Turbo. "What for?" they asked together. An apology from Turbo was so rare they almost thought they'd misheard him.

Turbo clenched his fists. He felt an unwanted desire to cry, he wasn't sure what from. It felt like the sort of tears he had when he didn't win, when he was angry and frustrated and stuck, trying not to throw a tantrum but feeling tears working their way through anyway. "You two had a shot at a new life here, and I ruined it! Like I ruin everything!" The sob broke through on his final word and he cursed abruptly and dragged his arm across his face. The velvet of King Candy's sleeve was both familiar and frustrating. "I've been selfish and stupid my whole damn life and it's not gonna change any time soon and I don't want you two taking shots for me...!"

The twins gazed down at him quietly, then both of them sighed and smiled faintly. They lay down next to him, Ted flinching as he shifted his body against the bed, then they each looped an arm across Turbo and moved in close to him. Turbo's face grew red. He moved his arm slightly to blink at them through his tears, feeling now both ashamed and embarrassed. "W-what are you...?"

"Don't be sorry, Turbo," Ned said, squeezing him in gently, "it's out of character for you."

Turbo sputtered a little, uncertainly, as Ted spoke up as well, "Besides, you didn't ruin anything. We've _got_ a shot at a new life, now, with you, and that's better than anything Sugar Rush could have offered us alone."

Turbo's face warmed. He lowered his damp eyes, feeling strangely comfortable between the two of them, feeling their closeness, their presence, in a way he simply couldn't perceive in the cybug form. Now he could feel their warmth against him, the gentle weight of their arms around him. He felt a bit like a fool, lying there in those ridiculous clothes, with the two racers practically cradling him between them, but at the same time, he was reluctant to push them away.

Ted leaned his cheek against the back of Turbo's head lightly, snuggling his face into the racer's hair with a pleasant hum. Turbo grimaced quickly and rolled his shoulder back, pushing against Ted's chest with his elbow. The other racer winced and sucked in a quick breath in pain. Ned lifted his head to look past Turbo at his brother and Turbo tilted his head to look back as well. "...a-are you hurt?"

Ted smiled a bit anxiously, letting out a shaky breath as he relaxed back against the bed, though he trembled a little still. "Just bruised, nothing new..."

Turbo gazed at him quietly. It was new to _him_. He had never known Ted to get into fights, with anyone, except maybe Nitrus, and only then because Nitrus had started it. Ned relaxed back against the bed slowly, pulling Turbo a little closer to him. Turbo lowered his chin again with a faint blush. Things had changed since he had left them. In some ways, some part of him had always thought that getting back to his old body would mean getting back his old life, but now he realized what a lie that thought had been. Turbo Time was gone. The arcade had moved on. Everything had changed since the day he left, and there was no going back, no matter what he did to his code. The twins were right. They were starting over. A new life.

"I beat you today," he murmured.

Ted let out a faint sigh as he leaned his face back against Turbo's head, smirking. "Yeah, surprise, surprise. You've been racing this track, what, twenty some years now?"

Turbo smirked faintly, settling in and closing his eyes. "I still beat you."


	18. Epilogue

_Author Notes: I first wrote this epilogue because I decided I wanted the story to end on a happier note. Not that the original ending wasn't happy, but it's rather bittersweet and I wanted to leave off with more of a feeling of hope, of moving forward. So, I wrote this._

_And then I decided I wanted to add a whole second story arc, so, I guess it doesn't make much of a difference. XD I'm probably going to start posting part two next week under a new title on here; I'll just be calling it A New Day. It'll pick up a couple weeks after the end of this fic. My upload schedule will likely be a bit slower for part two, but we'll see how it goes. In any case. Yet again, a huge thanks to Lava for helping me edit this! Thank you so much for reading and I've really enjoyed sharing this story with all of you!_

* * *

Epilogue

When Turbo awoke the next morning, he found the twins still snuggled up against him on either side. For a brief moment, he actually forgot where, and when, he was. Then the candy-colored room and the aching bruises on his face brought him back, reminded him of the situation at hand and the frustrating circumstances that allowed him to be here with them at this moment. He breathed in as deeply as he could manage, squeezed between the two of them as he was, and remembered with mild discomfort just how grateful he was for the twins. Considering this, the looming problems of their future seemed far less important, so long as they were together.

Eventually growing restless at lying awake on his back in between them, he carefully twisted himself free of the entwined arms and climbed out of the bed. Without Turbo between them, the twins subconsciously shifted in closer to each other and comfortably settled back to sleep snuggled up in one another's arms. Turbo stood at the end of the bed and turned toward them, glancing over the bandages across Ted's nose and the bruises below his left eye. In spite of what was obviously quite painful, likely more painful than the hit Turbo himself had taken, Ted was smiling his usual contented smile as he nuzzled himself in against his brother. Frowning, Turbo sighed lightly and turned from them to glance around the dim room.

Someone had returned his shoes and jumpsuit in the night and they were sitting, folded up, on a peppermint-bark chair by the door. He picked his jumpsuit up and gave it a thoughtful look before carefully changing out of King Candy's regalia and into his old familiar gear. It was good to be out of King Candy's clothes, he thought ruefully. They had been a part of King Candy's character, and it had always seemed comfortable to wear them as the king, but as himself, the clothes seemed ill-fitted and stiff, uncomfortable. Once he was back in his old clothes, the ones he was programmed for, a deep sense of belonging settled into his chest.

It was only after he'd pulled his shoes on that he realized his helmet was missing.

* * *

To his dismay, the twins were equally clueless as to the missing helmet, and he was forced to go without it when a servant, a nervous little peppermint woman, was let into the room and bade them follow her to meet with Vanellope. Turbo had always disliked having his messy shock of a fohawk exposed, primarily because the twins seemed inexorably drawn to it. As they walked down the palace halls behind the candy woman, he was left constantly swatting at the their hands as they tried to ruffle his hair and stick it up with their fingers.

Just as they were reaching the large set of doors which led to the dining hall, Turbo found he couldn't suffer their antagonizing any longer and abruptly shoved both of them away from him with a shout, "Son of a bitch, you guys, cut it out!"

The twins stumbled a step back from him, blinking as he glared down at the peppermint woman in front of him. She stared back in horror, holding the door open with a trembling hand, her eyes large and timid. Cursing again under his breath, Turbo stalked past her into the room, the twins snickering as they followed after.

"S-sorry," Ned murmured with a sheepish smile to the woman as he passed. She let the door swing shut as she fled.

* * *

They took seats at one end of a long, white table that sparkled in the light coming in from the full length windows at the right side of the room. Huffing, Turbo dropped into the chair on the end of the table and the twins sat quietly around each corner. The room was empty but for the trio and two guards at the doors at the other end of the hall, both of them looking rather awkward and downcast, ashamed of the incident that had occurred under their watch the day before. Turbo slumped down in his seat, arms folded across his chest, glaring down at the table, but the twins only smiled. An angry Turbo was always better than a sad Turbo. Angry was about as close to a good mood as Turbo was on most days. It was an improvement from the night before, at any rate.

There was a sound from the other end of the hall, and the guards stepped back from their posts as the doors were opened and Vanellope entered. The child looked tired, but she smiled lightly for them as she approached, still carrying herself like a ruler, in spite of her age and stature. She stepped up to the far end of the table and leaned on the back of the chair there for a moment. Turbo glared at her coldly. She stared back with an almost smug smile, stepping around the chair quietly and lowering herself to sit. "Good morning, Turbo Trio."

Turbo's eye twitched. "Turbo what now?"

The twins both smiled approvingly. "Good morning, Miss Vanellope," they answered together.

Vanellope smiled at the three of them still, tilting her head on one side. "How are you feeling?"

Ned glanced across the table at his brother. Ted smiled somewhat anxiously and looked back at the young ruler, touching the bandage on his nose lightly. "I'm fine, nothing new..." Turbo glanced at Ted with his eyes, then away, silent.

Vanellope brushed at her bangs with her stubby fingers, glancing up over the trio at the architecture of the room as she began to speak. "Well, it was a long night, don't have to tell you that." She stretched her hands out over the tabletop, fingers interlocked. "But! The good news is, you two twins are allowed to stay here in Sugar Rush—if you want. And Turbo, until we figure out what to do with you, you're gonna be allowed to stay here in the palace with them."

Turbo didn't seem all too pleased with this but the twins still smiled amiably.

"The bad news," Vanellope continued, actually lowering her eyes to look at them now, "is that most of the racers, and pretty much all of the citizens, still aren't...ahm...keen on this idea. But! Some of them are!" She threw up her hands in the air. "I actually got some of the other racers on your side, so, that's a start!"

A quiet relief settled over the twins and even Turbo, though he was more reluctant to show it. He slid down a little in his seat, just the same, feeling a faint weight lift from his shoulders. Ned glanced down at him, reaching under the table to touch Turbo's hand lightly. The racer returned the glance quietly before he looked back down at the floor.

Vanellope smiled at the three of them, laying her hands flat on the table and pushing herself to stand back up. "Turbo..."

He looked up at her stiffly, shifting his folded arms and scowling. "What?"

"Y'know, the whole King Candy thing isn't exactly easy for any of us to wrap our minds around," she said, stepping around the edge of the table, "and I happen to know there's somebody here in the palace who's got somethin' to say to you."

Turbo's muscles tensed. Someone else wanting to pick a fight with him? He wasn't in the mood and he sure as hell wasn't about to let the twins fight for him again. He sat up reluctantly as she stepped closer, swallowing. "Who?"

Vanellope stopped beside Turbo's chair, smiling coolly before she took one swift step to the side, revealing a familiar green sourball hovering just above his jellybean feet. Turbo blinked rapidly. He had been slumped so low in his seat, he hadn't even noticed Sour Bill enter with Vanellope. The little candy assistant was looking at the floor and a bit to the side, his face lamely despondent as always. The twins exchanged a brief look of question before glancing back to the little character as well.

Sour Bill shifted a little in his hover, hesitating before he looked up at Turbo with reluctance. "The president has advised me to be straightforward," he droned in his usual monotone, "so...welcome back, sir. I suppose I'm not entirely disappointed that you survived."

Turbo's throat caught. He almost coughed but held it inside, looking down at the little character in disbelief. Though the candy in no way looked, or even sounded, glad, Turbo knew Sour Bill's honesty when he heard it. He opened his mouth to speak, flickering inadvertently over to King Candy's avatar as he stammered out, "Thank you," and returned to Turbo's form again. He blinked uncertainly, clenching a grey hand and casting a quick glance over his white jumpsuit. There was still the faint electric tingle of the glitch running just under his skin, and a few loose pixels fit themselves back into his avatar with a light red flicker. He glanced up again, realizing that all eyes were on him. "And, ah...I'm...sorry," he finished, looking away. The effect of the glitch was fading, but his mind was still racing with questions over how or why such a thing was possible.

Sour Bill blinked slowly, two large eyes that stared up at Turbo's unfamiliar face. "King Candy, sir?" he droned with what seemed like disinterest.

Turbo looked back at the sourball quickly and swallowed the dry lump in his throat. There would be plenty of time to figure out the glitching, he told himself as reassuringly as he could; he was stuck in Sugar Rush indefinitely now anyway. He cleared his throat, speaking a little brokenly,"That's...sort of a matter of opinion...But you don't have to call me that any more." He waved his hand a bit awkwardly. "I'm no king."

"Sure you're a king!" Vanellope broke in, abruptly slapping Turbo on the back. He shot a look at her with a clench of his teeth. She only smiled wider. "King Turbo Bug, lord of cherry pies!"

Turbo's face flushed immediately. He shot the twins a fast look one after the other. "What the hell did you tell her?! -And I'm not a bug anymore!"

Ted smirked faintly and shrugged. "I thought it was a cute name."

"Me too," Ned agreed with a grin.

"Well," Vanellope began loudly before Turbo could start yelling again, "to be honest, I've got no idea where things are gonna go from this point on, and it might be hard to get you on the track after today, King Turbo Bug, so in honor of you and your wonderful twins joining Sugar Rush, I would like to challenge you all to a race. Just the four of us."

Turbo perked at this, seeming to ignore the insult as racing filled his thoughts instead. "Which track?"

"Your choice," Vanellope offered with a gesture of her hand.

Turbo hesitated only a split-second before blurting, "Devil's Food Drop." He jumped out of his seat, nearly knocking the chair over but Ted reached out and caught it with one hand.

Vanellope grinned sharply, slipping around the back of his chair. "Perfect! It's my best track, I can beat you in a heartbeat!"

A sudden, competitive grin spread on Turbo's face. "I know Devil's Food like the back of my hand, I can't be beat! Especially not by a-"

"Glitch?" Vanellope stuck out her tongue. "You got nothing on me now, Turbug." Turbo hesitated, his thoughts scattered at the realization of this fact. He grimaced, watching her sharply. "And by the way, no help from the twins or I'm disqualifying you!" She wagged a finger at the two of them each. "So behave yourselves! Last one to the track is a rotten candy cane!" That said, she turned and rushed for the door.

Turbo had scrambled out of place and taken off after her before the twins could very much react. They both stood slowly, blinking after the two, then glancing at Sour Bill who had watched all of this with an incurably bored expression. He glanced up at the twins and shrugged faintly. "It's good to see him racing again," he said dully. "I suppose..."

The twins watched silently as Sour Bill clattered away, leaving them alone in the grand dining hall. They moved to stand side-by-side, glancing at one another, then began stepping toward the door, matching one another step-for-step.

"So," Ted murmured, looking ahead of them after Turbo and Vanellope, "I guess this is our life now."

"I guess so," Ned said in reply, glancing at his brother.

Ted wrapped one arm around his stomach, feeling the tender bruising of his ribs under his jumpsuit. He breathed out slowly. It was a strange new beginning, that was certain. It was something he had never expected or imagined was even possible. To be starting over, racing again—with Turbo, no less! A lot of it still felt impossible, but he was beginning to get used to the idea of it all. A new game, a new life. Certainly the old one would still be there to haunt them, but each day they would continue to move forward, one more step away from their past. And the very thought of moving forward was a blessing in itself.

Ted sighed lightly, a content sigh that left a smile on his bruised face. "I bet I can run Turbo into that fudge pit on the first lap."

Ned smirked a little, reaching forward to take his brother's hand as it was offered. "You're on."


End file.
